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 copyright law, Cornell University' 
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THE 
 
 WILD SPOKTS OF INDIA, 
 
THE 
 
 WILD SPOETS OP INDIA: 
 
 WITH DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE 
 SPORTSMAN ; 
 
 TO WHICH ABE ADDED 
 
 REMARKS ON THE BREEDING AND REARING OP HORSES, 
 
 AND THE FORMATION OP LIGHT IRREGULAR 
 
 CAVALRY. 
 
 BY 
 
 MAJOR HENRY SHAKESPEAR, 
 
 LATE C03DIAKDA5T NAQPORE IRREGULAR FORCE. 
 
 SECOND EDITION, MUCH ENLARGED, 
 WITH PORTRAIT OP THE AUTHOR. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNHILL. 
 
 H.DCCC.LXII. 
 
 [TAe right of Translation is resened.~] 
 
PJftEFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 In offering a second edition of this work to the public, 
 it appears becoming to preface it with a few words 
 expressive of the sincere thanks of the author for 
 the very favourable and kind consideration the first 
 edition has met with. The rapid sale and success of 
 this was quite unexpected ; indeed, it was not his 
 intention to write a book for the reading public of 
 England generally ; his aim had been a book of in- 
 struction for the young sportsman going out to India, 
 and possibly the perusal of this by those dear to him. 
 My friends have advised me in this edition to give 
 in minute detail every information, ab initio, which 
 may bo useful to the sportsman going to India, both 
 for his health, his comfort, and for his safety. I trust 
 that I have done this without making the book 
 tedious to the general reader, while it will enable the 
 young hunter to pursue the sport with less risk to his 
 
vi PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 health and life ; and it is a satisfaction to me to feel, 
 that in this edition I have endeavoured to make some 
 return to the anxious parents who may have been 
 under the impression that the perusal of the first 
 edition of my book has imbued their sons with a taste 
 for wild sports. 
 
 If a boy has no natural and innate love of sport, or 
 a longing desire for this excitement, the book will be 
 read like any other story-book, and laid aside ; if, 
 however, the thirst for manly sport and excitement 
 exists in his heart, he will endeavour to quench it 
 with, or without, the knowledge derived from a book ; 
 with the aid derived from this, he shall happily 
 quench his thirst again and again; without it, he 
 may unhappily quench his thirst with his life. 
 
 The training that makes a sportsman makes a 
 soldier ; it gives him endurance, and ability to stand 
 exposure to the sun and climate ; it gives him an eye 
 for country, in addition to the advantages enumerated 
 in the preface to the first edition, viz. familiarity with 
 danger : and I could mention names of men greatly 
 distinguished for their conduct throughout their en- 
 tire career in India, and most especially during the 
 late Mutiny ; who have been well known for their 
 
PKEFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. vii 
 
 courage and skill in all noble woodcraft ; who have 
 from their early days followed the pursuit recom- 
 mended in this book, with advantage to their own 
 health, and, what is of more consequence, to the 
 benefit of mankind in general. 
 
 The native words have been used for the informa- 
 tion of the young shikaree or sportsman, the English 
 words have followed as translation for the general 
 reader. 
 
PREFACE TO THE PIEST EDITION. 
 
 Since the commencement of this work, England has 
 been suprised and horrified by the terrible mutiny 
 and revolt of the Bengal army, and by the cruel 
 enormities committed by men who had taken the oath 
 of fealty and allegiance to the East India Govern- 
 ment. It is not too much to say that, in many cases, 
 young and gallant gentlemen, descended from the 
 chivalry of England, have fallen helpless and almost 
 unresisting victims, who, had they been acquainted 
 with the use of their weapons, and accustomed to 
 handle them, as well as manage their horses at speed, 
 might have escaped, or, at least, have sold their lives 
 dearly, and died in arms. 
 
 Courage without skill will not avail in the time of 
 danger : and men of great natural courage will, from 
 being unaccustomed to scenes of peril, lose their 
 presence of mind at such moments. 
 
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. IX 
 
 Knowledge such as is called for in the examination 
 of candidates for cadetcies is very useful, and actually 
 necessary ; such also as is acquired on the parade- 
 ground is likewise necessary ; but they are not the 
 only kinds of knowledge required by the soldier. 
 One man, accustomed to look danger in the face, 
 feeling the consciousness of superiority over his 
 enemy from knowledge of his weapons, is, at the 
 hour of peril, worth a host of men who have not had 
 similar training. Danger which would appal others, 
 is to such a man a delight ; and almost as necessary 
 to him as the breath of life is the excitement attend- 
 ing such scenes. 
 
 I must beg my readers to be indulgent, and to 
 forgive many mistakes and ill-worded sentences in the 
 following pages; requesting him to bear in mind 
 that those who are in the habit of taking much out- 
 door exercise, can rarely brook the restraint required 
 to keep them steadily at work writing a book. 
 
 " This child " — as the American most happily terms 
 himself — when very innocent, inherited a love of 
 sport, and with it a seat on horseback, quite at 
 variance with a seat at a desk. From using the 
 spear, his right hand soon became a great deal too 
 
X EEEFACE, TO THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 hard and unpliant to use the pen. Thus this hook 
 trusts for support only to its matter and utility. 
 
 That a thirst for adventure, and a love of excite- 
 ment and danger, may be engendered in the hearts of 
 the rising generation, and that England's sons may 
 rouse themselves from their beds of luxury and ease — 
 
 " Wield the keen brand and poise the ready spear, 
 And back the wild horse in his wild career," 
 
 is the earnest wish of the author, and aim of this 
 
 work. 
 
 May the reader always bear in mind, that he who 
 
 walks in the untrodden forests of India, teeming as 
 
 they are in many places with wild animals, goes, as it 
 
 were, with his life in his hand ; and, though 
 
 " Fate steals along with silent tread 
 Found oftenest in what least we dread," 
 
 that there is One who is always watching over and 
 
 caring for us, even when we do not take care of 
 
 ourselves. 
 
 " For Death, he gathers here and there, 
 Now spares the dark, now strikes the fair, 
 Now poisons with a kitten's claw 
 The man escaped the tiger's jaw; 
 Controlled alone by Him whose win 
 Chooses the good from out the ill; 
 Daunted alone by Him whose power 
 Creates the little daisy flower, 
 
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. xi 
 
 Hearing it in simplicity 
 
 And all its native beauty free, 
 
 Beneath the giant forest tree. 
 
 Dared oftentimes by him who knows 
 
 That God is with him as he goes — 
 
 Then, Death, thou canst not give alarm 
 
 To him who, shielded from all harm, 
 
 Goes forth in humble faith of heart, 
 
 And laughs to scorn thy threat'ning dart, 
 
 Allowed on him prepared to fall, 
 
 When ready, at his Master's call, 
 
 Surely, our earthly work being done, 
 
 Death hath no sting, Life is but then begun." 
 
 H. S. 
 
 ISth Sept. 1859. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Advantages to be obtained from a love for Field Sports — 
 Weapons : Rifles, Hunting Knives, Swords .... I 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 HOG-HUNTING. 
 
 Hog-Hunting — Courage of the Animal — A Hunt — Horses — 
 Spears — Various Adventures — Instructions to Young Sports- 
 men — Shikarees 29 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 
 THE HAN-EATEK. 
 
 Tiger-Shooting on foot and from Trees — Adventures . . 73 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 TIGEE-SHOOTING. 
 
 Native Hunters or Shikarees — Various Plans adopted for Shoots 
 ing Tigers — Adventures — Different degrees of Tenacity of 
 Life shown by Tigers : Instances of this .... 106 
 
xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE PANTHEB. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Panthers — Their appearance — The Author's too close acquaint- 
 ance with them — Their ferocity — Adventures : some nearly 
 fatal 131 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 THE BEAK. 
 
 Reasons why Dogs cannot be employed with advantage by the 
 Sportsman in India — Bears — Their appearance and habits — 
 Methods of Spearing and Hunting them — Adventures . 155 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 BEARS AND BUFFALOS. 
 
 An unsuccessful Bear and Buffalo Chase — A prosperous day's 
 Sport 174 
 
 CHAPTER VIE. 
 
 WILD ELEPHANTS. 
 
 The parts of India in which they ahound — They must be shot 
 in the Brain — What sort of Bullets are best — Adventures — 
 Directions and Cautions for less experienced Sportsmen .191 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE BUFFALO AND THE BISON. 
 
 The Buffalo and Bison — Their Appearance, Size, and Habits — 
 Methods of hunting the Buffalo — Adventures — The Bison . 210 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 Deer : how to shoot them — Neelgai, or Blue Cattle — Sambur, 
 or Red Deer — Weapons: Rifles, &c — The Cheetah, or 
 Hunting Leopard — The Antelope — The Tbes. — Native 
 Hunters — Clothing — Directions for hunting in the Jungle — 
 Shooting Wild Animals not really cruel — Revolvers — The 
 Wild Dog 223 
 
CONTENTS. xv 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER (No. L) 
 
 ON THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF HORSES USED IN INDIA. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Arab : his Points and Qualities — Cavalry Remounts — The 
 Horse-Eair at Malliganm — The Kateewar Horse — Prices of 
 Horses — The Deccan Horse — Breeding and Breaking-in — 
 Plans adopted by, or suggested to, the Government — Aus- 
 tralian and Cape Horses 285 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER (No. n.) 
 
 ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 
 
 The Dragoon and his Accoutrements too heavy — Proof of this 
 — A Horse made for Speed cannot carry great Weight — 
 Light Cavalry the most effective — How the Weight may be 
 reduced— Prices of Horses — Saddle and Bridle used by Native 
 Horsemen — Native Methods of breaking-in Horses — Com- 
 parison as to Efficiency and Cost between Regular and Irre- 
 gular Cavalry — Dress and Arms of Irregular Cavalry — How 
 Infantry can be successfully attacked by them — Movements 
 — Cavalry in Jungles — Constitution of a Regiment — Non- 
 commissioned Officers — Pay — The Spear — Conclusion . 320 
 
ERRATA. 
 For "KoormHns" {passim), read " Koormburs." 
 
WILD SPOUTS OF INDIA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " Ccelum, non animum mutant, qui trans mare currant." 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 Advantages to be obtained from a Love for Field Sports — 
 Weapons : Rifles, Hunting-knives, Swords. 
 
 There are many sportsmen in India who have had 
 more experience in shikar, that is, in hunting and 
 killing the large game with which its forests abound, 
 than the writer of the following pages: — there are 
 few who have followed the calling with more zeal 
 and delight, or who can look back with greater 
 pleasure to many hairbreadth escapes and successes. 
 They are detailed, not for the instruction or edifica- 
 tion of old or experienced sportsmen, but to teach the 
 young and uninformed. 
 
 When I arrived in India, in 1834, an accomplished 
 English sportsman, that is to say, a shooter of small 
 
 1 
 
2 WILD SPORTS OP INDIA. 
 
 game, what would not I have given for the experience 
 of twenty-seven years, now offered in these pages ! 
 
 Ye anxious parents, who perchance read or hear of 
 the title of my book, with a full determination and 
 dread resolve that your boys shall not peruse or 
 obtain it, bear with me a little, while I explain to 
 you, that by making them shikarees, or hunters of 
 the large game of India's magnificent forests, you 
 are keeping them out of a thousand temptations arid 
 injurious pursuits, which they can scarcely avoid 
 falling into, if from no other cause than ennui and 
 thoughtlessness. Induce them, if possible, to become 
 fond of field sports. This will keep them fit for 
 their duty as soldiers, both in body and inclination. 
 
 Depend upon it, that the deep-set eye, thin nostril, 
 and arched brow, are not to be baulked of excitement. 
 The possessors of these — I may say gifts — love and 
 are formed for excitement. If not satiated iu one 
 way, and that an innocent, manly, and useful one, 
 your boys may take to the gaming-table, or to an 
 excess of feasting, rioting, or debauchery. Excite- 
 ment they must have, or die. Let them, therefore, 
 become bold riders, cunning hunters, riflemen of the 
 woods. Inure them to toil while they are young, 
 and a green old age shall reward them for their 
 choice, and they shall be thankful to you for your 
 encouragement and advice. 
 
 The active form, the muscular arm, the sinewy 
 hand, the foot whose arched instep betokens its 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 spring and elasticity — beneath which, when naked 
 on the ground, water will flow — were not given, 
 combined with the above-named gifts, to waste their 
 activity, strength, and lightness, in frivolous pursuits 
 or effeminate pleasures. 
 
 I do not mean to hold up to scorn the quiet book- 
 reading and studious character of a station ; nor to 
 state that there are not many such worthy men in 
 each and every cantonment ; but to inculcate the 
 lesson that activity and employment are necessary to 
 keep youth from vice — prone by nature as we all are 
 to it, and more easily allured by its temptations than 
 to good. I point out an amusement, and a useful 
 pursuit, and a way of passing his leisure time, to the 
 boy who, freed for the first time from the trammels 
 of school, can rarely sit down and amuse himself 
 with books, and, in consequence, is likely to fall into 
 idleness — the root of all evil. To each one is his 
 talent given by God to cultivate : to the Preacher, in 
 order to save the souls of the poor, unlettered, and 
 ignorant heathen ; to him who has been blessed with 
 the gifts of good nerve, energy, and strength, that he 
 may save the bodies of these same ignorant heathen 
 from the fell destroyer that lives in the forest and 
 preys upon them. Who shall say that the poor 
 idolater saved by the latter from destruction shall not 
 become converted to Christianity by the former ? 
 
 The author of this book has sons of his own already 
 in India; it was for their instruction and guidance 
 
 1—2 
 
4 WILD SPOETS OF INDIA. 
 
 that he first conceived the idea of writing this work. 
 He hopes and trusts that they will study it, and 
 become shikarees. 
 
 Exposure to the sun is the bugbear usually put 
 forward to prevent young men from venturing into 
 the forest or jungle ; but, believe me, that with 
 moderate care in keeping the head well covered 
 with a thick cap, which will be hereafter described, 
 with the use of other necessary accoutrements, and 
 with the abstinence from wine and liquor during the 
 heat of the day, and while exposed to the sun, this 
 pursuit will not injure the health. 
 
 After upwards of twenty-seven years of service ; 
 after having, on three separate occasions, had bones 
 broken in hunting — twice from horses falling and 
 rolling over ; having been wounded by a wild boar, 
 .wounded by a panther, and again wounded in action, 
 the author of these pages is still in good health, and 
 capable of riding a hundred miles in the day : this he 
 has actually done, and even a greater distance than 
 this, at different times, within the last few years. 
 
 I am. obliged in this shikar account to be, I fear, 
 very egotistical; but as it is to Contain, strictly 
 speaking, the hunting adventures, incidents, and acci- 
 dents which happened to me personally, I must hep- 
 the reader's forgiveness and patience. 
 
 The knowledge I would impart to others has been 
 gained by actual experience, or by information derived 
 from native hunters, when verified and proved. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 Amusement is not the business of life ; nor would I 
 wish any one to neglect the most trivial duty for 
 which he is paid, and for the performance of which 
 the government he serves has its just claim. There 
 is a time for all things, and there are many leisure 
 hours at the disposal of young men in India, which 
 may be profitably employed in shikar. 
 
 To give all the information I possess to the aspirant 
 to the useful, and I hope it may be called the honour- 
 able, title of a shikaree, that is, a slayer of the wild 
 animals of India, and to explain to him what it is 
 advisable he should procure in England, and what 
 he will require in India, is the purport of the prelimi- 
 nary chapter of. this edition. 
 
 The hunting apparel, as it best pleases him, may 
 be made up here or there, but if not made up here, 
 he should take the material with him, and it should 
 be made from head to foot of the patterns described. 
 
 There can be no fashion in clothes for this work ; 
 they must be made easy for the wearer, but not loose 
 enough to impede his progress in the jungle. For 
 the protection of the head a fore and aft hunting cap, 
 with the brim on either side to extend a couple of 
 inches beyond the ears, with small ventilators at the 
 top, and covered with a light cloth (not black velvet) 
 of any neutral tint; — light slate-colour or light brown 
 is the best. This cap should be made strong enough 
 to save your head in the event of your coming down 
 hunting on rocky ground, but not made too heavy; 
 
6 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 and it is easy enough to have covers of different 
 coloured cloth (padded with cotton if necessary), 
 agreeably to the tints of the jungles you are going to 
 shoot in, as well as to the season of the year. This 
 will admit also of their being washed. These covers 
 must have button-holes to fasten to buttons fixed 
 under the brim of the cap ; they can thus be taken off 
 and changed. A tape as broad as your finger, and 
 six or eight inches long, with a button and hole at the 
 end of it, should be sewn at the back of the cap 
 to fasten it to a loop of similar tape sewn on the 
 back and inside the collar of your shooting jacket. 
 A strong and narrow black ribbon is also required; it 
 should be sewn at the ends inside the cap, just long 
 enough to go round the chin. Tins can at all times 
 (save when riding hard in high wind) remain inside 
 the cap. Your shooting jacket should be made so as 
 to reach some three inches below your hips. A coat 
 with pockets, such as is used in England for shooting 
 or hunting, inevitably comes to grief in galloping 
 through jungle or forest, and in shooting, the pockets 
 are always catching in thorns, and shaking the bushes, 
 when you should be moving silently. Five pockets 
 are necessary, viz., for your shikar or hunting knife ; 
 small telescope ; powder flask ; a few bullets and 
 caps, and your pocket handkerchief. 
 
 For eight months in the year cotton clothing, 
 strong enough not to be torn by thorns, is as warm 
 as you will be able to bear ; and it is a good plan to 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 have two pairs of jackets, one a very little larger in 
 size than the other ; you go out very early in the 
 morning with two jackets on, and take off one when 
 the heat increases. 
 
 A light brown cotton corderoy is the best material 
 for shooting trousers ; it keeps out the spear grass, is 
 not easily torn, and perhaps only for two months in 
 the year is too hot to shoot in, while it will always be 
 a capital riding trousers for hog-hunting. Have them 
 made pretty loose from the waist to the knees, and 
 tight from that downwards. 
 
 To have your boots or shoes made for shooting in 
 India, is of greater consequence than is dreamt of in 
 the philosophy of most young sportsmen. Have 
 them made in England, Wellington boots, with soles 
 not thicker than will bend with your foot as you 
 walk, easy enough to pull off without trouble. The 
 heels hardly higher than the soles. If the sole of 
 the boot will not bend with your foot as you put it 
 to the ground, you cannot walk silently. You can 
 have some light shoes for going about among rocks, 
 for bears, or over them for ibex, but the boot keeps 
 out thorns and speargrass from the instep and ancle ; 
 and if the upper leather is made light, a boot of this 
 sort will hardly be heavier than a shoe. 
 
 The trousers should be just large enough to go 
 over this boot, not made lower than the ancle ; if it 
 bags at all at this part you will make unnecessary 
 noise in walking. 
 
8 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 A small hunting spur, the neck of which is just 
 long enough to hold the sharp rowel, fastened with 
 straps and buckles, is always to be worn, shooting or 
 hunting, if you use, as I always use, a shooting horse 
 or galloway to recover wounded game. This spur is 
 not in the way, as I remarked in my first edition ; 
 the spur is the legitimate thing to punish a horse 
 with or to stir his courage either for the encounter 
 with animals or to exert his utmost power. Skil- 
 fully used only, both for his rider's safety and his 
 own, never used to the extent of cruelty ; and it is 
 very rarely required, indeed, in a perfect hunter, 
 though it is often required for the young horse until 
 he has been broken in. "With a spur of this kind, 
 you may, on a courageous hunter, even without a 
 weapon in your hand, gallop close to and round any 
 savage animal, and thus mark him down until your 
 shikarees (native hunters) bring up your rifles. The 
 very short-necked spur does not, if you slip back- 
 wards, catch in the bushes or grass. 
 
 I suppose that a boy who has a love for field 
 sports implanted in his nature will for many years 
 before he is proceeding to India have an opportunity 
 of sporting, and that he has attained to the art of 
 shooting game flying and running. Most probably 
 he commenced with sparrows, and gradually ad- 
 vancing through the list of small birds has learnt to 
 kill neatly his partridges right and left. 
 
 All his youthful training will be of this great use 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 to hiin, that it will give him quickness of eye and 
 familiarity with his gun. Now-a-days, rifle shooting 
 has become so universally practised, that a boy has a 
 very good chance of becoming an adept with this 
 weapon before he is old enough to obtain a commis- 
 sion in the army, or has passed an examination 
 which qualifies him to proceed to India in any 
 capacity. Thirty years ago there were no opportuni- 
 ties in England, similar to those which now present 
 themselves, for the acquisition of rifle shooting : con- 
 sequently our children have great advantages over 
 their fathers. 
 
 In my first edition it is stated that for a complete 
 battery it is necessary to have two double-barrelled 
 rifles. There are so many excellent rifle makers, 
 that it would be invidious to give the names of one or 
 two. If the price of the rifle is no object, of course 
 go to the very best, who are the most experienced ; 
 but if high price prevents your obtaining rifles from 
 the best makers, you must purchase what you can 
 from those who charge less, though I would recom- 
 mend that application should be made to the first- 
 rate makers to make their best shooting rifles, 
 but perfectly plain as to engraving and finish ; and 
 perhaps these will be found not more expensive than 
 the rifles highly finished of inferior makers. 
 
 The turning out a single-barrelled rifle to shoot 
 accurately is a very simple matter, but it is the 
 putting together of two barrels, so as both shall 
 
10 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 throw quite accurately, which is the difficulty, and 
 which requires much time and trouble, and many 
 nicely conducted trials, before both barrels will carry 
 their bullets without diverging or crossing one another. 
 The experience of many years has brought me to. 
 the conclusion that a two-grooved bore is preferable 
 to polygrooved, or three or four grooved ; but the 
 grooves should be broad, and the belts to correspond 
 accurately, the bullets not to fit too tight, only 
 requiring a thin greased rag or patch, or what is 
 better, that the bullet should be sewn up in rag, 
 just large enough for it. The stock must be as long 
 as you can use it, and the bend in it to suit so accu- 
 rately, that your cheek should find the part of the 
 stock by resting on which your right eye catches at 
 once the sights in line. 
 
 The best length for the barrels is thirty inches ; 
 and if the calibre is twelve, the belted ball will weigh 
 about nine to the pound. These broad -belted bullets 
 cause very severe wounds, tearing the flesh and 
 bloodvessels in their progress, and letting out life 
 more rapidly than plain spherical balls. 
 
 I found that my two-grooved rifle, throwing with 
 similar charges equal weight of lead, hit harder and 
 caused more severe wounds than a polygrooved rifle 
 one and a half pounds heavier in weight ; but if you 
 prefer the polygrooved rifle, or one with four 
 grooves, use with it a slightly cupped missile, similar 
 to that fired out of the Enfield rifle ; it will penetrate 
 
INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 farther than a spherical ball ; but you will require a 
 twelve-bored rifle to be at least thirteen pounds and 
 a half weight, while a two-grooved rifle, as above 
 described, need not be more than twelve pounds 
 weight, and I think will be a more effective weapon. 
 
 The rifle should be bored, if possible, so as to 
 throw its ball up to one hundred yards without 
 rising ; thus the ball should pass through the centre of 
 ten sheets of paper put up at the exact height of the 
 shoulder of the shooter from ten yards to one hun- 
 dred. For this trial the sights should be folded down 
 flush with the elevation. The screw in the centre, 
 between the hammers of the rifle, should be so 
 exactly centrical as to immediately serve the eye for 
 this sight. 
 
 The folding sights may be made for distances at 
 the discretion of the sportsman; they are usually 
 made by the rifle-maker, for 150, 250, 300, and 
 400 yards ; but as even the best antelope shots in 
 India scarcely ever fire at above 200 yards at ante- 
 lope, and as in the jungles it is very rare that game 
 can be seen to be fired at above 150 yards, I should 
 prefer the folding sights to be arranged so that an 
 increase of thirty yards only should be obtained 
 between each sight : thus, without the sights raised, 
 that is flush, the rifle should carry 100 yards, first 
 folding sight raised 130 yards, second sight 160, 
 third 190, and fourth 220, which distance is sufficient 
 for all shooting at game. 
 
12 WILD SPOETS OF INDIA. 
 
 There would be no difficulty in having another set 
 of folding sights made for long distance practice, up 
 to 800 or 1,000 yards, if you wish it, but you cannot 
 have these high sights to fold into the elevation 
 between the barrels, and thus they are not adapted 
 for a sporting rifle. The reason that any standing 
 sight is objectionable is that there is often not time 
 for the quickest eye and most experienced sportsman 
 to catch the fine notched breech sight and the muzzle 
 sight together, so as to cover the deadly part of a 
 tiger, or other life-taking animal, when he is charging 
 you at full speed ; nor can you keep the sights in a line 
 through bushes or other cover on an animal difficult 
 to see from his similarity in colour to the jungle he is 
 rushing through. Perhaps the space between you 
 is only a few paces, and it takes but a few seconds' 
 space of time for the animal to pass over these before 
 he is upon you. 
 
 The other objection is that it is impossible to make 
 rifles so that the ball is projected in a direct line, 
 and not in a parabola, with charges proportioned to 
 the weight of lead driven by them, if the sight is 
 raised at the breech. I have known sportsmen, on 
 the plea that their rifles threw their bullets above the 
 animal aimed at, at short distances, condemn all 
 rifles, and prefer shooting with smooth bores. 
 
 To return from this digression. The principle of 
 swivel ramrods, such as are used for carbines, is an 
 excellent one for shikar rifles; the extra weight is 
 
INTKODUCTION. 13 
 
 not a matter of consequence, probably half a pound 
 will be the difference. Wooden ramrods are apt to 
 break, and the steel swivel ramrod, with the catch at 
 the muzzle, has the advantage of being always in its 
 place when required; and that may happen when 
 from any cause whatever you may be separated from 
 your shikarees (native hunters). When you are 
 with them you should always load with a strong 
 wooden loader, made nearly as thick as the bore of 
 the rifle will take, shod with brass, and concaved at 
 the end, so as not to flatten the bullet, with a round 
 handle at the upper end. Rifles of the bore I advise 
 will take two and a half drachms of the strongest 
 powder, and this will be about the bullet-mould full 
 of powder. 
 
 Your smooth bore should be of a similar calibre to 
 the rifles if polygrooved, but if the rifles are two- 
 grooved, have the gun made of a bore similar to the 
 spherical size of the rifle bore, viz., about number 
 twelve, of the exact bend and length of stock and 
 barrels, and seven and a half pounds' weight. 
 
 There is no chance of mistaking the smooth-bore 
 bullets for the belted ones, and in case of necessity, 
 such as the rifle bullets having been all expended, 
 the spherical bullet of the smooth bore may be used. 
 Both rifles and gun should be furnished with swivels 
 and straps to carry over the shoulder, as in some 
 shooting, such as ibex and bears, the hunter may 
 require both his hands free to get up or down. Be 
 
14 "WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 very cautious how you sling rifles on the shoulder ; 
 slings are also sometimes required for carrying rifles 
 when on horseback. All nipples should be of one 
 size, and all apparatus as much as possible adapted 
 for both rifles and gun. Now to that most important 
 matter — the trial of your rifles. 
 
 Unless you are a very good rifle shot yourself and 
 have had much more experience, and consequently 
 attained much more knowledge in these matters than 
 falls to the lot of most young men, you had better 
 get the best informed friend you can procure to see 
 the maker try your rifles, as well as to shoot them in 
 your presence. Of course the maker may be so 
 good a shot as to be able to shoot as accurately from 
 the shoulder as from a rest, but do not be under the 
 impression that either your friend or you can do so ; 
 and do not be contented with two or three shots, and 
 at a uniform distance ; try and have your rifles tried 
 at all the distances agreeably to the sights, as well as 
 at near distances, and with the full charge, as recom- 
 mended for use against large animals. Then have 
 their penetration proved ; and this is not so easy, for 
 it does not prove that because a bullet may be shat- 
 tered to pieces against an iron target that the rifle is a 
 very hard hitting one ; firing into the ground or at a log 
 of wood before a scarped bank will be a better trial, for 
 you will be able to see the shape of the bullet after it 
 has passed through the wood, and the direction it has 
 taken. The lead used should be pure and soft for this 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 trial. The smooth bore can be tried with ball up to one 
 hundred yards, and with a similar charge to the rifle. 
 If you have money to spare, you may add to the 
 above mentioned battery one large-bored single rifle, 
 say to carry a two-ounce-and-a-half bullet, and two- 
 grooved. This, when you are watching on the 
 ground for a tiger or other large animal, is very 
 useful for a first shot, for after all it is the premier 
 pas qui conte with these animals, and you would use 
 this bone breaker for the first and steady shot over a 
 rest. This rifle would carry four drachms and a half 
 of powder ; length of barrel two and a half feet. You 
 would have, of course, one of your double-barrelled 
 rifles resting against the screen, to take up imme- 
 diately you had fired your big one. Do not trust 
 this double rifle to any one. Now this big rifle is also 
 the one you keep near your bedside, for the purpose 
 of letting off if any one of your companions is seized 
 at night by a tiger or panther ; the sudden discharge 
 will generally induce the animal to drop his victim, 
 and possibly he may be recovered. 
 
 There is another way of trying rifles at the respec- 
 tive distances from ten to one hundred yards, instead 
 of putting up ten sheets of paper and firing through 
 them at one time ; and this is by firing each distance 
 separately at a very small mark : two inches diameter 
 is quite sufficient In whatever way you try the 
 rifle fire over a steady rest, and pull the trigger 
 by degrees. A rifle to carry accurately must not 
 
16 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 recoil, at the same time it must be loaded with a 
 heavy charge if it is to drive the bullet through the 
 animal fired at. Strength, therefore, is required, and 
 especially metal in the barrels. 
 
 If a man is a very large and powerful man he 
 may be able to shoot with and carry two-ounce 
 double rifles, or more, but he must bear in mind that 
 he will find it very difficult to obtain native shikarees 
 (hunters) to carry them, and keep up with him in a 
 long day's work. One of the largest men I ever had in 
 my service, the famous Hoorcha of the Neilgherries, 
 used to groan under the only heavy double rifle I 
 ever had; the bullet of this was three and a half 
 ounces' weight, and the rifle weighed some seventeen 
 pounds ; the metal of the barrel, however, was not 
 sufficient to take a charge of five drachms of powder, 
 which -would have been the proper charge to drive 
 the large ball through a large animal. 
 
 I mentioned in my first edition that the best rifle 
 that I ever had was made by Wilkinson, of Pall 
 Mall, though doubtless there are other makers quite 
 as good. Now, referring to the size and weight of 
 rifles, I have recommended what best suited me. 
 Should the sportsman who has to carry them, from 
 any cause whatever, wish for lighter rifles, he must 
 have smaller bores, and the weight of the rifles and 
 the barrels be in proportion, only lighter : thus if a 
 light-made man wants a fighter rifle, let him have 
 one carrying fifteen bullets to the pound ; this may be 
 
INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 made nine pounds weight or thereabouts, and if a 
 large, powerful man, who is equal to carry and use a 
 heavier rifle, say a two-ounce double rifle, that is, 
 carrying bullets eight to the pound, it should be made 
 at least sixteen pounds in weight. That rifles of 
 fifteen bore will kill their game well, I proved by 
 killing and bagging some nine head of large game, 
 including elephants, bison, bears, and deer, out of 
 fourteen shots with a rifle of that bore, by Westley 
 Richards, and a double gun by Mills, of similar 
 bore; this was in August 1845, in the Aneemullee 
 jungles, but the rifle had sufficient metal for its bore, 
 and my nerves had been braced up to steady shooting 
 by the air of the Neilgherry Hills. The effect of 
 tliis to a sportsman coming from many years' resi- 
 dence in the hot plains is very advantageous to steady 
 shooting. 
 
 My own battery consists of two heavy double 
 rifles, and a double gun : the heaviest is a Westley 
 Richards rifle, weighing twelve and a quarter pounds, 
 length of barrel twenty-six inches, polygrooved, 
 carrying bullets ten to the pound. It is a splendid 
 weapon, bearing a large charge of powder without 
 recoil; that is to say, its own bullet-mould full of 
 the strongest rifle powder. This weapon, with its 
 sights folded down, carries point-blank ninety-five 
 yards, and with great force. It has two folding 
 sights ; the first being raised, the rifle throws its ball 
 one hundred and fifty yards; the second, two hun- 
 
 2 
 
18 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 dred and fifty. However, like all polygrooved rifles 
 that I have seen fired with large charges, the ball 
 describes a parabola in its flight, rising gradually on 
 first leaving the barrel for forty-five or fifty yards, 
 and, at that distance, has risen some five inches ; the 
 ball then descends in its flight until it reaches the 
 target at ninety-five yards : which is point-blank 
 distance. 
 
 My other rifle is a very broad-belted, two-grooved 
 one, by Wilkinson of Pail-Mall. It takes a similar 
 quantity of powder to the other, and the bullet is the 
 same weight. It dees not throw its ball in the form 
 of a parabola, but point-blank from the muzzle up to 
 ninety yards. The folding sights are for one hundred 
 and fifty, two hundred and fifty, and four hundred 
 yards. This rifle, perhaps, is the strongest shooting 
 one of the two. Its balls have gone through and 
 killed a full-grown bear, while running, at one hun- 
 dred and twenty yards; and, on another occasion, 
 broke the backbone of a bear at eighty yards. The 
 weight of this rifle is ten and a half pounds, and the 
 length of barrel thirty inches. 
 
 I generally carry the last-described weapon my- 
 self; my shikaree, Mangkalee, being the strongest, 
 carries the Westley Richards rifle ; and my younger 
 ■shikaree, Nursoo, carries the double gun in a sling, 
 and a strong spear in his hand. Each of us is armed 
 with a shikar or hunting knife, the sheath of which 
 fits into the breast of the shooting-coat. Thus the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 19 
 
 knife is ready to the hand, and can be used in a 
 moment — this moment is time sufficient to save or 
 lose life. 
 
 My hunting-knives are some seven inches long, 
 and one and a half broad in the blade, partly double- 
 edged, fluted, coming to a keen point, and kept as 
 sharp as possible. There is a spring in the sheath 
 which catches the handle of the blade when it is down 
 in the sheath ; when required for use, this spring is 
 pressed open with the little finger, at the same time 
 that the hilt is grasped. It requires no buckle, or 
 other fastening ; the steel button in the side of the 
 sheath fitting into a button-hole in the pocket of the 
 hunting-coat. I think, after much experience in 
 knives, that this is the best weapon that can be made, 
 consequently I have left the pattern with Messrs. 
 Wilkinson and Co., Pall-Mali. 
 
 I never allow my shikarees to shoot. If I did 
 wish to have a man to shoot with me, I would not 
 allow him to carry my rifle, but have him indepen- 
 dent with his own ; for, in the case of allowing your 
 gun-carriers to shoot, you are sure to have your rifles 
 emptied when you most urgently require them. 
 
 I know many men who think that a rifle cannot be 
 too large in the bore. I consider myself rather an 
 authority in this matter, have bad made to order (or 
 rather by mistake) a double rifle, carrying bullets 
 weighing three and a quarter ounces. It was, to 
 look at, and for target practice, a fine weapon, but 
 
 2—2 
 
20 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 was not nearly heavy enough ; and though not heavy 
 enough for its large bore, it was too heavy for one to 
 carry through a summer's day in India. Having 
 been nearly killed by a large tusk elephant with it in 
 my hand, I sold it on the very first opportunity for 
 nine pounds less than it cost me. I always prefer a 
 heavy to a light rifle, and for this reason, it is steadier 
 in the hand to fire. If my reader will take a rifle or 
 gun, one ounce bore, and (say) of about seven pounds 
 weight, run up a hill or even over a furlong of plain 
 ground, then fire immediately at a mark, or running 
 game (of course, not waiting long enough to take 
 breath), he will find how difficult it is to keep this 
 light weapon steady to his shoulder. Let him then 
 take a rifle of similar bore, twelve pounds weight, 
 and do the same. He will find the latter steady itself 
 by its weight, and he will make a much better shot 
 with the . heavy than with the light rifle. It is only 
 the heavy rifle that will take a large charge of 
 powder without recoil. This drives the bullet through 
 the animal ; and where the bullet escapes, owing to 
 the impetus nearly ceasing, the wound is much larger 
 than where the bullet enters the body ; consequently, 
 the life-blood flows more rapidly, and the animal 
 becomes more suddenly weak from this wound, than 
 from one caused by a ball which only enters, but 
 does not pass through him. 
 
 Another great advantage is, that the large charge 
 of powder propels the ball with so much greater 
 
IXTftODUCTICXN. 21 
 
 force, that it crashes through, and breaks bones, with- 
 out deviating much from the first direction taken. 
 The small charge of powder is all well enough for 
 target practice, but it is of no use for actual service 
 against large animals. Rifles of the same bore, size, 
 and weight, are of great advantage; there is no 
 making mistakes in the hurry for bullets, and no 
 changing powder-flasks. I always carry a pistol 
 powder-flask, with a large top or charger adapted for 
 the heavy rifle, half-a-dozen bullets, and a few 
 percussion-caps, in my own pocket ; so that if by any 
 chance I am separated from my shikarees, I have 
 some ammunition always with ma In a climate like 
 India, we do not overload ourselves with powder- 
 flasks and belts. 
 
 On horseback, I always carry a sword at my side, 
 and sometimes, if expecting any desperate work, 
 when on foot also ; in the latter case, the belt is 
 passed over my shoulder instead of round my waist, 
 so as to keep the point clear of the ground. The 
 sword is the queen of weapons. 
 
 I have never had any experience with the steel- 
 tipped conical ball, having always found zinc hard 
 enough to kill elephants (if hit in the proper spot of 
 the head), and lead for all other animals. However, 
 I daresay it would be useful ; and Gordon Cumming, 
 who speaks warmly of the steel-tipped conical ball, 
 must be as good a judge of these things as could be 
 heard, and no doubt speaks to the point. Whether 
 
22 WILD SPOETS OF INDIA. 
 
 two-grooved rifles would carry them as well as a 
 polygrooved rifle, I cannot tell ; but I was very glad 
 to hear the above-named great shikaree state, that 
 one of the rifles he used in Africa carried only an 
 ounce ball. This coincides with my own opinion, 
 that it is not necessary to have small cannon to kill 
 game with. Of course, in African hunting, which is 
 so much carried on from the saddle, the very heavy 
 and large-bored rifle is a great drawback ; if for no 
 other reason than for the extra weight that the horse 
 has to carry. 
 
 The jungles of India are generally too thick for 
 riding game through; though I have tried it, and 
 sometimes with success. I use the horse in them 
 to recover wounded game: the best description of 
 animal will be mentioned in the accounts of shikar 
 to be detailed hereafter. A first-rate horse for hog- 
 hunting, if he be also one from whose back game can 
 be shot, and who will stand by himself in a jungle, 
 is worth, to a man devoted to the sport, nearly his 
 weight in silver. Descriptions of some of the best 
 horses I have had, may perhaps not be out of place, 
 when I treat of the different kinds of game that have 
 been killed from their backs, together with their 
 numerous feats, accidents, and escapes. 
 
 Your saddlery, of course, will be made up in Eng- 
 land ; and agreeably to your weight have your hunt- 
 ing saddles made ; if above eleven stone, these should 
 not be less than fourteen pounds complete. It is a 
 
INTRODUCTION. 23 
 
 great mistake for a heavy man to suppose that 
 because he can ride on a racecourse, or for his even- 
 ing exercise, in a light saddle, that this will suit him 
 for hog-hunting. The lighter saddle is smashed all 
 to pieces by a horse rolling over on it ; the leather, 
 also, is torn by the thorns ; besides this, the smaller 
 and thinner saddle either cuts a horse's back in a long 
 day's hunting, or fatigues him much more than the 
 saddle of weight adapted to a heavy man. 
 
 Sometimes you- will require to carry a pistol — 
 revolver or other — with you; holsters, therefore, 
 should be procured, such as are attached to a leather 
 surcingle going round the saddle and over the girths, 
 with two straps on either side to be fastened to plated 
 D's, which are fixed to the saddle. The other 
 holster (i. e. the one on the right hand) will be very 
 convenient to hold your sandwiches or anything you 
 take to eat. 
 
 The holsters, though not used generally for hog- 
 hunting, are a great protection to the knees in riding 
 wounded deer through a jungle. A strap, three feet 
 long, with a swivel hook at one end to fasten on and 
 take off at pleasure from a ring in the pistol handle, 
 is actually necessary, with a buckle at the other end 
 to fasten on to a strap sewn on in the centre of the 
 leather between the two holsters ; the pistol thus can 
 be taken out of the holster with the strap attached to 
 discharge from horseback, or it can be unhooked from 
 the strap when the rider dismounts, and put into a 
 
24 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 light holster which is on the sword-belt round the 
 waist, from whence it can be drawn for use on foot in 
 a moment. • The strap should always be hooked to it 
 when the rider again mounts his horse, for galloping 
 is very likely to shake the pistol out of the holster, 
 and it is lost. 
 
 Broad and soft reins, and headstalls with plain 
 curb and snaffle bits, and a chiftney or other more 
 severe bit, with twisted snaffle bits, with half cheeks, 
 a couple of running martingales, spare girths and 
 stirrup leathers, and reins, also some watering bridles, 
 horse-rugs, and rollers, should be taken out Though 
 all these articles can be procured at either of the pre- 
 sidencies, be sure that you are measured for your 
 saddles, and go to one of the best makers in London. 
 If you can afford it, have two saddles of similar pat- 
 tern and weight, though a little different in the size 
 of the tree. It is a bad plan to have to change your 
 saddles and bridles in the hunting field. Procure 
 thin felt saddle-cloths to put under your saddles ; they 
 are useful for many horses, and save the pannels of 
 the saddle, which are apt to get very hard in a hot 
 climate, from the excessive perspiration and rapid 
 drying process that takes place when saddles are ex- 
 posed to the sun by your native horsekeepers. 
 
 The only other tiling required is a leading-rein for 
 your shooting horse ; have this made six feet loner, 
 one inch broad, and a spring hook and swivel sewn at 
 either end ; these hooks are fastened to your snaffle 
 
INTRODUCTION. 25 
 
 bit, and become a third rein when you are riding 
 your shooting horse. When you dismount to shoot 
 at game or lead your horse, you unhook the off-side 
 from the bit, and attach the hook to the buckle of 
 your sword-belt ; the horse, therefore, cannot move 
 away from you. This rein is very useful to fasten 
 your horse to the branch of a tree, should you wish 
 to leave him at any time in the jungle. The hook 
 should be of one inch in diameter, of steel, and 
 strong. This leading rein must have no buckle in 
 the middle. A single twisted snaffle bit and rein will 
 also be of great use. Now, in the directions for 
 making all these bits, be very careful to order them 
 to be made much smaller in the mouth than those for 
 English horses, both curbs and snaffles. Stops are 
 requisite on the snaffle rein if you have buckles 
 attached to your bridles, to prevent the martingale- 
 ring getting over them. 
 
 If in the army, you will, of course, have your 
 regulation sword; see this proved yourself ; and for 
 shikar have a sword with a handle rather flat than 
 round ; as a protection to the hand, instead of the 
 basket hilt an iron hilt about half an inch wide. If 
 you fall on the handle of a sword of this make you 
 will not break your ribs, which you might do by 
 falling on a basket or other hilt. 
 
 Now if you are ambitious of sabreing hog or other 
 animals off horseback, have your shikar blade made 
 thirty-nine inches long, and very slightly curved. 
 
26 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 You can with this blade reach animals at a distance, 
 and with less chance of injury to your horse. The 
 point is both safer and more deadly than the edge ; 
 but the objection to this long blade is that when on 
 foot it is almost impossible to keep the point off the 
 ground. A wooden scabbard, covered with leather, 
 three or four inches of the point, and as much of the 
 upper part to be covered with stained iron. This 
 sword and scabbard go into a broad loop of leather, 
 attached by a strap about six inches long, depending 
 from your sword-belt. The sheath, the upper part 
 of the iron of which is made larger, should fit quite 
 tight into this loop of leather ; but to use a sword of 
 this length to kill a hog, you must be in practice, 
 otherwise your arm will get fatigued, your hoi-se, 
 perhaps, dangerously wounded by the animal, and 
 it is not impossible that you may inadvertently 
 wound your horse with the sword. "Whenever you 
 cut at anything off horseback, remember that the 
 edge of your blade must be inclined a little out- 
 wards. 
 
 Let not the young sportsman think that because 
 he can go on walking in England, or wherever his 
 home may be in Europe, from " morn till dewy eve," 
 without breaking his fast, that he can do this with 
 impunity in a climate like India, and under its burn- 
 ing sun, or inhaling the miasmata of its jungles. 
 
 He should always, even if going out from canton- 
 ments to get a shot at an antelope, or beat a grass 
 
INTRODUCTION. 27 
 
 bheer or rumnah (grass allowed to grow to be kept 
 and cut for stacking), in the neighbourhood, take a 
 sandwich, biscuit, or crust of bread in his pocket, 
 together with a chagul (a leather vessel made for 
 carrying drinking water), and a brandy flask of small 
 dimensions. These may not be required nine times 
 out of ten, but the tenth time the sportsman may 
 have a chase for miles after a black buck antelope or 
 a hog; he may find hyaenas, wolves, or any other 
 animal, that may possibly keep him out in the sun 
 till noon ; his horse may fall with him, and be so 
 lamed that he will have to dismount and lead him 
 for miles, or he may himself be rolled over and much 
 hurt. The draught of brandy-and-water now acts 
 as a cordial — taken immediately, it prevents fever 
 setting in, enables the man to get home and under 
 medical treatment. Had he become faint, and 
 obliged to remain in the hot hut of a village or 
 under a tree, perhaps without any one to bring him 
 assistance for hours, the after consequences may be 
 very serious. 
 
 I have always advocated the practice of taking a 
 cup of tea, coiiee, or chocolate, with a bit of bread 
 or toast, before the sportsman goes out of his house 
 in the morning, even though he goes for a ride or a 
 walk only — because in almost all parts of India, and 
 at all times of the year, there is a considerable deal 
 of miasma ; and I think that without anything in the 
 stomach a man is more likely to inhale this miasma, 
 
28 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 the impregnation of fever, when his'-^stoiiiach is 
 empty. ;»■ ' -% !.'<. „..'» ; | 
 
 Another fraitful'soufce 'of "fevers' and rheumatism 
 of the worst kind, is the practice that many fall into 
 of sitting after walking or riding in an unsheltered 
 verandah, or under the trees of the garden. At this 
 time in India you are often saturated with perspira- 
 tion, and this is productive of much harm. If you 
 sit and take your ease after exercise at any time of 
 the day in India, do not sit in a current of air, nor 
 under a punkah pulled violently or near a therman- 
 tidote. 
 
 Of all shooting in India, snipe-shooting is the most 
 deleterious to health. A burning sun overhead, 
 while the feet and legs are in a swamp, acts much 
 upon the same principle as a fire and giving water 
 to geese whose livers are required for pates de foie 
 gras. Very few men can stand this shooting without 
 suffering ; and I do not think that the sport repays 
 one for the ill health that must necessarily follow. 
 You go into and sleep in an elephant jungle, but it is 
 to shoot an animal worth having when killed ; there 
 is sport and excitement, and you do good by his 
 destruction. 
 
29 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HOG-HUNTING. 
 
 Hog-hunting — Courage of the Animal — A Hunt — Horses — Spears 
 — Various AdVentures — Instructions to young Sportsmen — 
 Shikarees. 
 
 The great variety of large game in India makes it 
 difficult, as I said before, to select what subject first 
 to write upon. I wish to blend instruction with 
 amusement in this my first essay. 
 
 Every man has his peculiar fancy or taste in sport, 
 as in other matters. I consider that hog-hunting, 
 especially in the hilly countries of the Deccan and 
 Nagpore, is the very first sport in the world ; ergo, 
 I will commence with it. 
 
 A hog-hunting party is generally formed in the 
 cantonment. Some join it from love of the sport, 
 and to ride for the spear of honour — the first spear — 
 that thrilling sound, which once heard no man ever 
 forgets who has a soul for hog-hunting ! Others join 
 it for amusement, for the fun of the thing, to eat, 
 drink, pass the time, and enjoy jovial companionship : 
 for a hunter has a merry soul, always " within the 
 limits of becoming mirth." 
 
30 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 Let us, however, to the jungle side, and see the 
 formation of the beaters, and how the beat, or 
 hankwa, is to be managed: which of course should 
 be left to the most experienced hand in the party. 
 
 The native shikarees of that part of the country 
 should be consulted ; and if there are not any, the vil- 
 lagers, who always know the whereabouts of the hog. 
 
 Whether the beat is a sendbund, or date grove, as 
 is commonly the case in the Deccan, — whether it be 
 a hill side, or a hill itself, or in short, whatever sort 
 of cover is to be beaten, the precaution in the first 
 place of posting men on high trees, for the pui-pose 
 of looking out, should not be neglected. These 
 lookers-out should be furnished with a small white 
 flag, about the size of a pocket-handkerchief, on a 
 stick two or three feet long. I always employ besides 
 these, men with pistols and powder-flasks, at certain 
 points where hog are known generally to break. Of 
 course, men who are trusted for this purpose, must 
 not only know the use and loading of firearms, but 
 be thoroughly instructed not to let the pistol off until 
 the hog is fairly out in the plain beyond them. The 
 man who has the direction of the party is commonly 
 called the captain of the hunt ; he must be implicitly 
 obeyed as to the peculiar way in which the beat is to 
 be conducted, as well as to how the riders should be 
 placed. He ought to have the matching of the best 
 horsemen and horses; and his employment is very 
 often a thankless one, for in hog-hunting, as in 
 
HOG-HUffTING. 31 
 
 other matters, it is very difficult to please everybody. 
 When a large extent of cover has to be beaten, 
 riders are posted in pairs at different points. They 
 are particularly instructed not to move their horses 
 until the hog fairly break from the cover; for the 
 fastest horse in India cannot excel the wild hog in 
 his first burst, nor prevent him turning back to his 
 cover, should he so determine. I have said that it is 
 difficult to please everybody, but the captain of the 
 hunt must do his best. If he is an old and retired 
 sportsman, he will succeed better in managing to the 
 satisfaction of the party than if he still covets, and 
 wishes to ride for, the first spear himself. 
 
 An old hog-hunter should not be matched against 
 a young one; for, unless the latter is far better 
 mounted than the former, he will have but a small 
 chance. Even with the advantage of the best horse 
 and young blood in his veins, I will back the wary 
 and experienced spearsman against the fastest Nimrod 
 that ever rode to hounds in England. 
 
 The beaters should, if possible, be furnished with 
 gongs (or native tom-toms), horns, rattles, and other 
 noise-makiDg instruments. They are used, or not, 
 according to instructions very distinctly given before 
 the beat commences. Some jungles or covers are 
 best and most thoroughly beaten silently, that is, 
 without shouting or using the above-named noisy in- 
 struments. This system is pursued by the brinjarees, 
 or grain-carriers of India, who are most keen hog- 
 
32 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 hunters on foot, with spears, and assisted by their 
 dogs. From some jungles the hogs are best driven to 
 the plains, or rideable ground, by noise. 
 
 When an old and savage boar is in his stronghold, 
 he is very difficult to dislodge. Neither noise nor 
 driving will turn him out. He constantly rushes 
 out, and knocks over the beaters nearest to him, 
 sometimes wounding them severely, though oftener 
 upsetting them with little injury; for the native, 
 having but very little clothing on him, is uncom- 
 monly nimble. 
 
 The different systems pursued in driving hog, as 
 well as the different ways they are ridden, must be 
 shown when I come to describe the most exciting 
 runs, which terminated in accidents, either to horse 
 or man. The gallant hunters who have carried me 
 in these must also be described. 
 
 At present we will suppose ourselves at the cover 
 side, waiting for "the final shout that is to dislodge 
 the mighty boar from the last refuge to which he 
 has betaken himself. Every now and then he is 
 seen trotting sulkily ahead of the beaters. Shouts 
 of " Wuh jata hai," — " There he goes," — are heard ; 
 and a report from a pistol, denoting that he is fairly 
 in the plain, thrills like an electric flash through 
 every rider. 
 
 Waiting, with spear in hand, for the word " Ride," 
 each horseman now, within the distance of a chance 
 of the spear, starts into life. 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 33 
 
 Now, youngsters, if possible, be not too much 
 excited; ride in the wake of the old and wary hog- 
 hunter, until the boar is viewed, and then, with 
 hands down and heads up, lay into your hog. He 
 goes quietly enough until you near him, and you are 
 under the impression that you are going to spear 
 him at once, when suddenly he hounds away from 
 you. Two or three times in the next quarter of a 
 mile he does this; when, turning rapidly to the 
 right, before you can wheel your horse with him, 
 your old friend with the grizzled beard, cool as if 
 he were sitting at his cup of tea, takes the spear- 
 hand of you, and as he comes up to the boar, who 
 half meets him in the charge, passes his spear 
 through and through him. Quietly raising his 
 weapon, he says in a whisper which you never 
 forget, "First spear.'' You would scarcely believe 
 him, had you not seen the boar roll over behind his 
 horse. 
 
 Down with your spear, youngster ! for woe betide, 
 if you miss the mighty heast this time, who, now 
 wounded and deeply incensed, rushes at the first 
 horseman in his way. 
 
 I will give you credit for not having missed the 
 hog on this occasion; but the odds are that your 
 spear is carried out of your hand, and sticks upright 
 in the back of the savage foe. 
 
 The boar is now at hay : he may, or may not, take 
 four or five spears, perhaps a dozen, to kill him, and 
 
 3 
 
34 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 two or three horses may be badly wounded. Gene- 
 rally, however, before the third rider comes up, our 
 old friend with the grizzly beard, having wheeled his 
 horse, will have again faced the boar, and where his 
 vast neck just mingles with his spine — 
 
 " Sheathed his blade and dropped him dead." 
 
 Over on his back the monster rolls, and dies without 
 a groan — dies as only a wild hog can die, in silence. 
 
 Amidst such scenes as these — such pleasures and 
 such excitement — have I passed many happy hours 
 of my life, and hope to pass many more. 
 
 This is not the time for soliloquizing. Up come 
 some of the beaters, a sapling tree is cut down, the 
 bagdoor, or horse's leading rope, is brought into 
 requisition, the boar's legs are tied over with it, and 
 eight men bear him off in triumph to the tents. 
 Ere this the old hog-hunter has measured him with 
 his spear; he stands about thirty-nine inches high 
 at the shoulder. Whether his tusk is nine inches 
 or more is left for further discussion. The beat after 
 this goes on with various fortune. The youngster is 
 lucky if he takes a first spear in his first essay at 
 hog-hunting; he must gain experience in this as in 
 all other pursuits. 
 
 After this prefatory and fancy sketch, I will pro- 
 ceed to give a description of some runs where horses 
 or men were wounded ; or in which my pet hunters 
 have distinguished themselves. No one but he who 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 35 
 
 has seen it would believe that the wild hog of India 
 can on his own ground outpace, at. his first burst, 
 and run away from the fastest Arab racehorse : but 
 such is the fact. Let the hog be mountain born 
 and bred, having to travel in certain seasons of the 
 year forty or fifty miles every night for his food, then 
 try him on his own hill-side, or over the rock and 
 bush of the Deccan, and I will back the hog against 
 the hunter. 
 
 This is ground which few men will ride ov er 
 because their horses' legs suffer so severely, that they 
 cannot afford to do it, even should they themselves 
 have the nerve necessary for the work. 
 
 Again, no man who has not been an eyewitness of 
 the desperate courage of the wild hog would believe 
 in his utter recklessness of life, or in the fierceness 
 that will make him run up the hunter's spear, which 
 has passed through his vitals, until he buries his tusk 
 in the body of the horse, or, it may be, in the leg of 
 the rider. 
 
 The native shikaree affirms that the wild boar will 
 quench his thirst at the river between two tigers, and 
 I believe this to be strictly the truth.. The tiger and 
 the boar have been heard fighting in the jungle at 
 night, and both have been found dead, alongside of 
 one another, in the morning. 
 
 Of all the animals in India killed by me — and 
 these are the tiger, wild elephant, buffalo, bison, 
 bear, panther, leopard, and wild hog, in short, all of 
 
 3—2 
 
36 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 the genus ferox inhabiting those splendid forests — not 
 one has ever made good his charge against the deadly 
 bullets of my heavy rifles, or against the spear, save 
 the wild boar and a panther: they have all been 
 cut down, killed, or turned. 
 
 The occasion on which I was nearly disposed of 
 summarily by a boar, was as follows : — 
 
 In the month of January, 1851, I was out hog- 
 hunting at a village some ten miles from Hingolee, 
 in the Deccan, and beating the sugar-cane at day- 
 light without success. A villager came up to me 
 and said, " What are you beating the cane for? If 
 you want to see a hog, come with me, I'll show you 
 one." Falling at the time to the rear of my horse, 
 he whispered to a native officer of the cavalry reoi- 
 ment I then commanded, " The sahib won't be able 
 to kill him, he is such a monster, we are afraid to go 
 near the place where he lives." My first impression 
 was that he was the owner of the sugar-cane, and 
 wished to allure us away from it ; however, I pro- 
 mised him a present if he would show his larcre 
 friend. On this he gaily led the way, until, coming 
 over the brow of a hill about half a mile from the 
 cane, he stopped dead, and pointed to an object in a 
 dhall field below us, saying, " There he is." In the 
 mist of the morning this appeared to me like a laro-e 
 blue rock, much too large for a hog ; however, the 
 object moved, or rather got up, and there was no 
 mistaking it. 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 37 
 
 About a hundred and twenty yards on the other 
 side of him was a deep corrie, or fissure in the hills, 
 thickly wooded : this evidently was his stronghold, 
 and if he chose to make his rush for it there was no 
 chance of being able to intercept and spear him. 
 Thinking it possible that he might not run, but fight 
 at once, I started to gallop round the field and place 
 myself between the boar and his stronghold. The 
 native officer with me was a very good rider, a man 
 well known for his courage, and for being one of the 
 best spearsmen and horsemen in the Nizam's cavalry : 
 he was mounted on a good Arab horse. I was on an 
 imported Arab mare ; she having been sent by the 
 Pacha of Egypt to the Nawab of the Carnatic, and 
 sold at auction at Madras, whence I had procured 
 her. It was about the first time I had ridden her 
 hunting. 
 
 We galloped round, and stood behind the hedge 
 of the field, waiting for the beaters to come up, 
 and if possible to drive the big fellow away from 
 the hill. Standing, as I was, behind a hedge con- 
 siderably higher than my mare's head, I did not see 
 the boar. The duffadar, who was some thirty yards 
 to my left, but looking over a lower part of the 
 hedge, shouted out " Look out ! here he comes." 
 The mare was standing still, and I had but just time 
 to drop my. spear-point, which caught the boar in his 
 rise: the blade was buried in his withers. The 
 beautiful mare, from her standing position, cleared 
 
38 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 with one bound the boar, spear and all, as this was 
 carried out of my hand ; then, suddenly turning, was 
 in a moment in her stride after the hog. The latter 
 had but seventy yards to reach the edge of the 
 cover, so I shouted to the Duffadar Allahoodeen 
 Khan, " There goes my spear : spear him ! " Just 
 as the boar struck the first branch of the jungle with 
 his back, breaking my spear in two, the dufi'adar 
 closed with him in a moment. The boar, having 
 been missed by the spear, was under the horse, and 
 thus for thirty yards the latter, literally lifted off his 
 legs, was plunging and kicking until the rider came 
 to the ground. Fortunately, I had three dogs out 
 with us, and having shouted to let them go, they came 
 up and took off the attention of the boar at the 
 moment I thought he was on the duffadar. The 
 latter had fallen on his sword and broken it, so that 
 he was utterly helpless, for I had not then obtained 
 another spear. 
 
 In the next moment the boar and dogs had dis- 
 appeared in the jungle; which was, as I before 
 remarked, his stronghold. Immediately I procured 
 a spear, I rode up the face of the hill, and round the 
 farther end of the corrie I heard the dogs baying the 
 boar below me ; but it was impervious, and from rock 
 and jungle, was inaccessible to the horse. Looking 
 towards the spot from whence I had come, and across 
 to the opposite side of the corrie, I saw the duffadar 
 again mounted, and shouted to him, " Send me a big 
 
HOG-HUNTma 39 
 
 spear ; come down, and let us spear him on foot i he 
 is killing the dogs." The man replied, " For heaven's 
 sake, sahib, don't attempt it on foot ! " It then sud- 
 denly occurred to me that this was the native officer 
 who, a year before, when out with another party, had 
 been dreadfully wounded by a wild boar : on that 
 occasion the boar knocked him down, and stripped 
 the flesh off his thighs. At this moment, up came 
 one of my people with my heavy double rifle, and 
 being still under the impression that the boar was 
 killing the dogs, I descended on foot into the~ ravine, 
 leaving my mare with the gun-carrier. Just as I 
 got to the bottom, I saw the monster boar with his 
 back to a tree, and the three dogs' looking very 
 cautiously at him. He was about forty yards' dis- 
 tance from me. 
 
 There was an open, green space where the water 
 lodged in the rains, and clear of jungle. At the 
 farther end stood the boar. Directly he saw me, 
 putting his head a little down to take aim, he came 
 straight at me, increasing his pace from the trot to 
 the charge. 
 
 When about fifteen yards off, he received the first 
 bullet of my rifle in his neck. Taking not the least 
 notice of it, he came on, and the second barrel, fired 
 at him at about five yards, broke his left under- 
 jawbone at the tusk. Fortunately I brought my 
 rifle down to the charge, and striking it with his 
 head, the boar sent me over on my back. While 
 
40 WILD SPORTS OF EtDIA. 
 
 running over me, he made a glance and Grounded me 
 in the left arm. Had I not put down my rifle-barrel 
 at the moment, most probably his tusk would have 
 been buried in my body, and this interesting ■ tale 
 never appeared before the public ! 
 
 As it was, I had two shooting-jackets on, it being 
 a very cold morning ; and I suffered more from the 
 jar on my shoulders than from the wound. As I 
 lay, I "seized the end of my rifle-barrels, determining 
 to sell my life as dearly as possible. To my delight, 
 I must say, I saw the boar knock over the man who 
 was running down with my big spear. He did not 
 turn on either of us ; for the boar is a noble foe, 
 rarely turning, unless desperately wounded and un- 
 able to go on, to mutilate a fallen enemy. The dogs 
 immediately tackled him, and permitted me, though 
 breathless, to get up. The spear-carrier looked 
 covered with blood, enveloped as he was in a large 
 white sheet — the usual protection of a native against 
 the cold of the morning. My first impression was 
 that the man was mortally wounded ; but I soon dis- 
 covered, to my delight, that the blood on the cloth 
 was that of the boar. The man valiantly affirmed 
 that he had speared him, but the mud on the broad 
 blade clearly denoted what an ignominious sheath it 
 had found. 
 
 The rifle stock was cracked, and the pin that 
 fastens the barrel into the stock much bent. Having 
 put this to rights, I loaded, and, proceeding in the 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 41 
 
 direction the boar had gone, heard a pistol-shot and 
 the rush of a retreating horse. This was the duffa- 
 dar, who had discharged his weapon at him, at a 
 distance of course., without any damage to either 
 party. I walked cautiously up to about fifteen yards, 
 when the boar again began glancing at me with his 
 very wicked eye. A dog's head was very near the 
 line of fire, but, determining to take the initiative 
 this time, I shot the beast through the eye to the 
 brain. Over he rolled, the biggest boar I have 
 ever killed : height, thirty-nine inches ; length, not 
 including tail, about five feet and a half; tusks, nine 
 inches. 
 
 A pair of plough-bullocks were caught, and the 
 boar, placed on a sledge formed of three or four 
 branches, was with difficulty dragged by them to 
 camp. 
 
 I prefaced this story with stating that the boar is 
 the most courageous animal in the jungle. There 
 he was, with a broken spear in his withers — the 
 shaft sticking up a foot and a half from the blade — 
 knocking over a horseman and wounding his horse ; 
 receiving two bullets — ten to the pound weight each 
 — the first in his neck and throat — a very deadly 
 part in all animals — the second breaking his jaw, and 
 fired within a few feet of the muzzle ; making good 
 his charge; cutting down his enemy like grass, 
 wounding him, then knocking over a second man 
 armed with a spear ; defying the dogs ; and then, 
 
42 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 when in the act of charging again, shot to the brain, 
 and dying without a groan. 
 
 The difference between hog-hunting in the plains 
 and hog-hunting in the ravines, with an occasional 
 jungle; is very great No one uses dogs in the 
 former ; while in the latter a wounded hog can 
 scarcely be recovered without them. No hog-hunter 
 ever shoots at a hog near any rideable ground, except 
 in self-defence, or after he has been wounded by the 
 spear. 
 
 In the plains of Bengal, where large parties of 
 hunters are out, there are, generally speaking, ele- 
 phants, from the backs of which wounded hog are 
 recovered when they betake themselves to unrideable 
 jungle. 
 
 Poor hunters, like myself, must go in and recover 
 our wounded hog in the best way we can. Experi- 
 ence, gained since the above-mentioned little fight, 
 lias shown me that fire-arms are not to be depended 
 on, when going on foot against a wild boar. The 
 spear and sword are the least likely to fail. The 
 service is a very dangerous one. 
 
 Hog-hunting can be enjoyed at a small cost, as far 
 as the expense of horses is concerned, if the rider is 
 a pretty good judge of horse-flesh, and does not spare 
 himself. The Arab mare I have above mentioned, 
 cost me 915 Company's rupees, that is, about 92?., in 
 English money. She was the most expensive horse 
 I ever hunted, and was not purchased for that pursuit. 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 43 
 
 She was the most beautiful mare I have ever seen, of 
 pure nedjd blood, gray, with flea-bitten spots, eyes 
 too large for her head, nostril thin and expanded, the 
 throat of a game cock, the hair of her mane and tail 
 so fine and soft, that the most beautiful woman might 
 have been proud of such texture, and her skin so 
 thin and soft, that the thorn bushes through which I 
 rode her used to tear it: after many of my runs 
 through jungle, I have bad her, bleeding from the 
 thorns, looking as if she had been practised upon 
 with a light sabre. She was what you would con- 
 sider in England a pony, fourteen hands one and a 
 half inches high ; but she was as broad almost as a 
 dray-horse, and ber tail was set up so high that, as 
 she moved about her loose box, you could, stooping, 
 walk between it and the ground. Her feet were 
 black and hard, and the tendons below her hocks 
 -and knees were like harp-strings. Add to this, that 
 her head was so lean that you might have boiled it 
 without obtaining any flesh from it, and you have a 
 picture of what this desert-born mare was. 
 
 A good Arab horse for bog-bunting, if not required 
 to carry more than eleven stone and a half, saddle 
 and all, could a few years back be purchased for 600 
 rupees — 60Z. — at Bombay. You may calculate 20/. 
 more for each additional stone weight that your horse 
 has to carry. Lam .referring to the price of a fresh 
 horse there, out of the dealers' stables, and assuming 
 the purchaser to be a pretty good judge of horse-flesh. 
 
44 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 One of the best hunters I ever had was purchased 
 by me at auction at Hydrabad, for 100 rupees — about 
 91. He was a dark chestnut Arab, under fourteen 
 hands — a pony to look at. Off the back of this little 
 animal I speared a great quantity of hog, some 
 hyaenas and bears : and as far as the courage of the 
 horse would go, I believe he would have gone up to 
 a tiger. 
 
 On one occasion, I had a long and severe run over 
 rocks and grass, after a wild sow, which, on the 
 second time of being speared, ran up the spear, and 
 fixed on the chest of this horse. He never moved 
 for some time ; till at length, I suppose, being con- 
 vinced that I could not get the hog off him, he 
 swung suddenly round, and the sow being a large, 
 tall one, this movement brought her alongside of 
 him, when he lashed at her with his hind legs, until 
 she was disengaged. This case I mention as an 
 extraordinary instance of the tenacity of life in a 
 wild hog. 
 
 A party of us roused a sounder of wild hog in a 
 grass rumnah near Hingolee. Some native officers 
 out with me — very light weights — were mounted on 
 very speedy horses. I was on the above-mentioned 
 little Arab ; consequently we separated. They rode 
 their horses to a standstill in the ravines, after diffe- 
 rent hog. I alone followed this sow; and the ground 
 being covered with bushes, speared her some eight 
 times before she got into a ravine. The bank on one 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 45 
 
 side was about eight feet high, and having placed her 
 back against this, she came to baj r . The ravine was 
 only eight or ten feet broad at the bottom, and up 
 this I galloped, and met the sow in the charge about 
 six times, spearing her every time. At last she 
 caught hold of the horse by the hock, opening the 
 plate vein, from which gushed a stream of blood. 
 Disheartened, and fairly tired out, I stopped, and 
 began shouting, in the hope that some straggling 
 horseman might come up. At length an orderly of 
 mine came up on a pony, when, pointing to the hog, 
 I said, " Tie your pony up, get on the bank above 
 her, and see if you can reach her with the spear ; for 
 she is not a hog, but a shaitan (that is a devil) : I 
 have speared her more than a dozen times through 
 and through, and she won't die." The man re- 
 marked— " How your horse is bleeding." At this 
 moment the poor sow put her head between the 
 root of a tree and the bank against which she 
 was standing; and seeing her at this advantage, 
 before she could get her head out of the noose, I 
 made a rush at her, and speared her through the 
 heart. 
 
 We were at some distance from a village ; so — 
 cutting off the end of the tail of the sow, remarking 
 at the time to my orderly, " They will not believe 
 that I have killed her on this ground, unless I show 
 this " — we proceeded to the village. There I pinned 
 up the vein in the horse's hock, which was still pro- 
 
46 WILD SPOETS OF INDIA. 
 
 fusely bleeding, got upon the orderly's pony, and told 
 him to walk the horse home quietly. 
 
 I may here remark upon the necessity of always 
 carrying crooked needles, silk, pins, &c, for the 
 fastening up of wounds, together with a shikar or 
 hunting knife, containing lancet, fleam, &c, on all 
 hog-hunting expeditions. 
 
 It is considered, as a general rule, that a good 
 hog-hunting horse can go wherever a wild hog can, 
 as far as the mere jumping of height and breadth is 
 concerned, as well as in following over bad ground, 
 where, if it be such as is considered rideable at all, a 
 good hunter will kill his hog. But hogs, when hard 
 pressed, will throw themselves down fifteen feet, from 
 a perpendicular bank ; and I have seen a whole 
 sounder of hog do this, each of them coming on his 
 chest and rolling over, then jumping up and going off 
 unhurt ; while we, the riders, pulled up, seeing that 
 the place was impracticable. 
 
 I suffered from numerous accidents in riding this 
 little hunter. One time, in the Aurungabad district, 
 I had speared and killed two boars off him in the 
 morning, and was riding after a sow. Twice I had 
 speared her, when, gaining the foot of the mountain, 
 she came to the charge, received the spear, and 
 knocked my little horse off his legs, running under 
 his chest. The fall I had on this occasion was 
 nearly being my last, for I was picked up insensible, 
 from striking my head against the stones. 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 47 
 
 Fortunately, my trained hunter stood without 
 dragging nie, until a trooper, coming up, with diffi- 
 culty disengaged my foot from the stirrup. The long 
 hunting boot and spur had been thrust through the 
 stirrup with such force that the latter was bent ; and 
 had the horse dragged me but a few yards in this 
 position, I must have been killed: for being, as I 
 before remarked, insensible, I was powerless to stop 
 him. I did not come to my senses for about an hour 
 and a half. 
 
 At another time, when riding for the spear on this 
 same horse, he sank hi a quicksand and rolled over 
 me, and I was again picked up insensible, with two 
 ribs broken. 
 
 I never had a horse so devoted to all sorts of sport 
 as this little Arab. On one occasion, before dawn 
 in the morning, as I was galloping out to the meet, 
 he suddenly jumped off the path with me, giving 
 chase to an animal, which turned out, when there was 
 sufficient light to see it, to be a hyena. 
 
 His sight was such that I trusted it in preference 
 to my own ; and I have known him fix his eye on 
 a certain patch of jungle on the hill above us, which 
 the beaters were driving ; and though not one of us 
 could see any game in it, and the beaters themselves 
 had driven up to the bush, a red deer, or samhur, has 
 suddenly sprung out of it. I felt the little horse's 
 heart beat against my heel, and remarked to my 
 shikarees, that I was certain there was some game 
 
48 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 in the bush ; the distance was two hundred and fifty 
 yards from us. I had several falls with him, owing 
 to his utter recklessness when following wild hog. 
 If I were riding down a hill, and the hoar jumped 
 over a rock or impracticable place, this horse would 
 follow exactly where the chase went ; and he has in 
 this way rolled over me several times. 
 
 The secret of riding a wild I102; is to ride as close 
 to him as you can, keeping him on the spear, or right 
 hand of you. You must be able to turn your horse 
 with the hog ; and, therefore, the horse must always 
 be in hand. In short, when the hog flags in speed, 
 the hunter must be ready to make his horse spring 
 upon him, so to speak. The spear then given goes 
 through the foe ; and if the hog charges at the time, 
 the increased impetus of two bodies meeting at such 
 speed generally drives the spear through from end to 
 end. 
 
 It is a good plan, when you are afraid of losing 
 your hog among bushes and grass, to leave a spear 
 delivered in him ; for it hampers his movements, and 
 he cannot conceal himself in the jungle. You can do 
 this if there are other riders with you to recover 
 and finish the hog, or if you have a sword at your 
 side. 
 
 I always have ridden with a sword, since I met 
 with the accident detailed in the early part of this 
 story. 
 
 On many occasions I have sabred hog a.fter they 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 49 
 
 have been wounded with the spear, and even boars, 
 as high as thirty-eight inches ; and once, from having 
 lost my spear, owing to its being knocked out of 
 my hand by a bush, I drew my sword and passed it 
 twice through the hog before she was touched with 
 a spear. 
 
 I have never heard of any party attempting to ride 
 and kill a hog with a sabre or sword, but I proved 
 the practicability of it on this occasion. The run 
 was after a single or solitary sow in the evening ; at 
 which time, as hunters know, from their not having 
 had anything to eat all the day, hog are particularly 
 speedy and enduring. 
 
 This sow got a start of a quarter of a mile, and 
 was ridden another mile before she was pressed. 
 Having got into some sandy ravines, I quite lost the 
 other rider and the hog, and I had nothing to do 
 with the first part of the run, but losing my spear in a 
 jump, I twice sabred the hog before she was touched 
 by a spear. Her height was thirty-four inches — the 
 length' of the sword blade. The Arab I was riding 
 was a four-year old colt, only thirteen hands three 
 inches high, but a pure nedjd horse. 
 
 The difficulty of killing hog on hilly and very bad 
 ground arises from not being able to press them at 
 full speed from the first. You must put it down as a 
 maxim, that a hog at all times must be ridden after 
 at nearly the full speed of your horse. The secret is 
 to blow him, or take away his wind, in the first burst. 
 
 4 
 
50 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 If you do not do this, either from the slowness of 
 your horse or the difficulties of the ground, he will 
 run often for miles, and he will not be caught at all, 
 or brought to bay ; unless he is a large and heavy, 
 or sulky boar, who rather prefers the joys of the fight 
 to showing his heels to the rider. 
 
 The chief difference between hog-hunting in Ben- 
 gal, and in the Bombay Presidency and the Hydra- 
 bad Deccan, is in the nature of the ground ridden 
 over, the length of the spear used, and the way it 
 is carried. The Bengal hog-hunter uses a spear from 
 six and a half to seven feet long, called a jobbing 
 spear. It is weighted with lead at the upper end ; 
 the bamboo is stouter than that used by the hunter 
 in the Deccan or Bombay Presidency, and the blade 
 is much stronger. It is not used as a lance, but the 
 point is carried about a foot and a half from the 
 stirrup, and the horse is made to turn, so that when 
 the boar charges, the spear point enters in with- 
 out being raised : in short, he runs against the spear. 
 This is the plan most approved, I believe, in Bengal, 
 where I have had but little experience. 
 
 The Bombay sportsman, whose hunting-grounds 
 used to be the hills about Poona, Ahmednuggur, and 
 in those districts, uses a spear from eight to nine and 
 a half feet long, under hand, and of lighter material 
 than the Bengal jobbing-spear. We, in the Hydra- 
 bad country, use a spear usually eight feet long : the 
 difference of lengths, and the system of using the 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 51 
 
 weapon, are accounted for, I think, by the difference 
 of grounds, and the habits of the animal. 
 
 The sugar-cane-fed hog of Bengal are very large, 
 lusty, and savage. The ground they are hunted 
 over is generally either grass plains or cultivated 
 fields. The animal, therefore, rarely gets much 
 start, is more easily blown, and comes more quickly 
 to the charge than the hill bred and bom hog of the 
 Deccan. 
 
 I am of opinion that a spear of about eight feet 
 long is, for the country of the Deccan, superior ,to 
 either the short Bengal jobbing-spear, or long poking- 
 spear of the Bombay sportsman. This may be from 
 my having made more use of the spear described : 
 and, after all, each man has his favourite weapon. 
 
 Some of my readers may be cantoned at stations 
 which they have heard reported of most unsatisfacto- 
 rily for hog-hunting. There may be hog in the very 
 gardens round the houses ; yet, owing to the vicinity 
 of deep and rocky comes and ravines, it may have 
 been considered impracticable to ride and kill them. 
 The gardens may be surrounded with the prickly 
 pear, or nagpunnee, of India, impervious :to horse ; 
 while the hog, who feed a great deal on 'the fruit of 
 it, dash through the thorn with apparent unconcern. 
 Such a place as here described was the cantonment 
 of Mominabad, or Ambah-Jogie, for many years the 
 head-quarter station of the gallant Nizam's cavalry. 
 Perhaps some of my readers will know the locality 
 
52 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 of the above station ; if not. suffice it to say that it 
 is on the edge of a deep and almost precipitous 
 ravine, on the opposite bank of which is a small 
 building called the Bootanaut bungalow. The 
 ravines below this widen into a river, the bed of 
 which is composed of immense boulder-stones ; while 
 the soil, which is only subject to casual inundation, 
 is clothed with reeds and a thick bush called sum- 
 baloo : something like the withy in growth. The 
 wild hog shelter themselves here in the day-time, 
 and at night ravage the gardens of the station. 
 
 In the year 1854, there were stationed at Momi- 
 nabad three of us, who determined to tiy and kill 
 hog in this very Bootanaut corrie. I had succeeded 
 in killing a few in the cantonment before my two 
 friends came, and had met with some terrible falls 
 in riding the hog in the corries. We three, there- 
 fore, with a number of beaters and some dogs, drove 
 the bottom of this corrie, both sides of which were 
 impracticable to ride up. 
 
 The first run we had was after a large sow. She 
 was killed with two spears; but only after having 
 given us a most exciting run through bushes and the 
 stony bed of the river. The excitement was such 
 that one of the party, a man who has probably killed 
 more hog than any man in this part of India, sprung 
 his horse off the river-bank into water deep enough 
 for him to swim in. His horse from this run lost all 
 his shoes, and so much of his hoofs that he was not 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 53 
 
 able to leave the stable for some weeks. My own 
 galloway lost his fore shoes, and this was the cause of 
 our mounting fresh horses. 
 
 The sow had scarcely been killed when the beaters 
 reported that a large boar had taken up his abode 
 on the hill on the left of the corrie and river ; this 
 was five hundred feet above us, and very nearly 
 perpendicular. 
 
 The plan adopted to drive him down to us — as 
 the ground was quite impracticable for horses, while, 
 if he took above, we should lose him — was to send 
 all the beaters and dogs above him. Even the men 
 could not get down to where he was ; for we should 
 not have used the dogs had it been possible to drive 
 him down without. 
 
 We concealed ourselves and horses as much as 
 possible in the sumbaloo bushes. One of my friends 
 was mounted on a fresh horse, I on a young mare, 
 which had never been hog-hunted before ; for, to say 
 the truth, I had not expected that we should have 
 had a run at all. After some shouting and beating, 
 the boar was roused, and came down the almost per- 
 pendicular hill, with the dogs behind him. 
 
 At the bottom of the hill, and between it and the 
 bank of the river, there was a space of five-and-twenty 
 or thirty feet, clothed with brushwood. Through 
 this the boar ran a short distance, and then came to 
 bay with the dogs. 
 
 We started out of the sumbaloo. The other two 
 
54 WILD SPOKTS OF INDIA. 
 
 riders crossed the river branch ; but I, knowing that 
 the only place at which a horse could get out of the 
 river and corrie was about a quarter of a mile ahead, 
 rode up the river for it. Coming to this point, I 
 turned my horse to look for the boar and the riders, 
 since, if they had passed me, they must have been in 
 view on the hill side. Suddenly, and only about 
 fifty yards in front of nie, appeared the younger 
 horseman of the two, without his spear, hat in hand, 
 trying to beat off the other horse, who was riderless 
 and attacking him. The ledge of ground between 
 the foot of the hill and the river bank was but a few 
 yards wide ; the river rolled below us ; the bank was 
 some twenty-five or thirty feet in height, and nearly 
 perpendicular. The boar was not in sight, but I 
 concluded he was in the bushes beyond. The 
 younger rider, after in vain endeavouring to beat off 
 the horse that was attacking him, jumped off his own 
 mare, and let her go. At that moment, a sillidar, 
 fond of hunting, being an orderly of one of the officers, 
 and well mounted on an Arab horse, came up behind 
 me, saying, " Go in, sir, and take the spear." I 
 replied, " I am on a young mare ; how can I pass 
 those fighting horses ? " He sprang off his horse and 
 said, " Take mine, and my spear." I too had 
 jumped off, and was in the act of mounting the other 
 horse, when the boar, on whose path we stood, 
 passing close by the fighting horses, charged me. 
 There was scarcely three feet between the mare I 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 55 
 
 had dismounted from and the horse I was mounting, 
 and I had but time to seize the short and heavy spear 
 which the orderly had thrust into my hand in ex- 
 change for my own, when the boar, roarings with his 
 mouth open, as a wild boar does when he charges, 
 rushed upon the spear-blade, the point of which was 
 broken in his throat. Fortunately it remained fixed ; 
 and though the great power of the boar nearly took 
 me away into the river, directly I felt the spear 
 firmly planted in his throat, I turned the tables by 
 pressing the boar back again into a bush. The 
 trooper now speared him in the belly, which was 
 of no use ; but disengaging my sword from its sheath, 
 I divided the animal's back bone with two drawing 
 cuts. " Aper profundit Iiumi" and breathed his 
 last. 
 
 I shouted lustily, " Hurrah for the first spear on 
 foot ! " however, the younger hunter replied, " No : 
 I speared him in the bushes, and my spear is there." 
 This was the case ; so, leaving the spear fixed in his 
 throat, I inquired, "Where is the other rider?" 
 His horse, it appeared, had fallen in going up the 
 steep bank of the river, and afterwards had attacked 
 the other horse, which caused the rider to dismount 
 and let both horses go. 
 
 We found him on his back, considerably hurt. 
 We then returned to the spot and measured the boar. 
 He was only thirty-four inches high ; but his tusks 
 were eight inches long. He was an old boar, and 
 
56 AVILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 his hind feet were malformed, the hoofs turning out 
 like horns. This accounted for his hardly running 
 at all. He had been constantly described to us as a 
 lame boar, which came into tbe gardens. 
 
 The two horses got into the ravines and grass 
 rumnahs, and were not brought in till the morning 
 of the second day after this happened. They had 
 been, therefore, fighting for about forty hours. One 
 was considerably injured from kicks in the chest. 
 A new Peat's saddle, belonging to the elder hunter, 
 was brought home in three pieces on a villager's 
 head. 
 
 These were looked upon as minor injuries, con- 
 sidering that we had accomplished what nobody else 
 had ever attempted; whilst the first hog that was 
 killed was a thorough runner, the last a desperate 
 fighter ; and had he not rushed with open mouth on 
 to the spear-blade, but struck it the least on one side, 
 he would not only have got away unhurt, hut, in all 
 probability, would have wounded some of us severely 
 in this passage of arms. 
 
 Let me warn my young readers from going into a 
 boar on foot. Sometimes this must be done ; and in 
 that case two or three of the hunters should have 
 spears ; but even then it is very dangerous, if the 
 boar is among bushes or cover. 
 
 On the above occasion, had I not been armed with 
 a sword, it is very probable that he would have got 
 away; for the spear-blade was very nearly bitten 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 57 
 
 off, and another struggle might have broken the 
 shaft. To the keen sabre, then, be all praise ! 
 
 To my instructions regarding riding for the spear, 
 I would add that a sportsman really fond of the 
 thing, and who rides honourably, never rides cun- 
 ning. Young reader, always ride to the front ! 
 There is scarcely any ground that a hog crosses 
 where your horse cannot follow. Blot the words 
 impossible and impracticable out of your dictionary. 
 You may break many bones without much injury ; 
 and depend upon it, if you hunt over the rocky 
 ground of the Deccan, and ride for the spear, you 
 must of necessity have falls. 
 
 Rather more than five years ago, i.e. March, 1855, 
 while riding for the spear on a little hunter only 
 thirteen hands two inches high, bred in the Deccan, 
 he fell with me on stony ground, and I was laid up 
 in consequence for seven weeks in bed with a broken 
 hip. This was the third time I had bones broken ; 
 but, considering that since this last accident I have 
 both speared and sabred several hog, I am not much 
 the worse for it. 
 
 The horse I was riding was certainly hardly equal 
 to my weight ; but I had killed hog off him, over 
 much worse ground, without his ever falling with 
 me before. 
 
 I will now give some instructions for riding wild 
 hog, though actual experience in the sport can alone 
 make a man successful. 
 
58 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 To enable the tyro to compete with the old hog- 
 hunter — who is almost as crafty as the wild animal 
 he spears, and who always speaks of a big boar as he 
 would of an honourable enemy against whom he is 
 pitted in a fair fight — I will mention a few maxims, 
 approved of as such in this sport. Ride at the tail of 
 your hog: which means that, from the commence- 
 ment of the run, you must press him at nearly the 
 very best pace your horse is capable of: this is to 
 blow him. If you let him go along at his own pace 
 for the first half mile, he gets his wind, and will often 
 out-pace and beat you in the long run. 
 
 Your horse should have had no food for some 
 hours, if you expect to get a run early. He ought 
 to have been muzzled after finishing his grass at 
 night; in short, kept like a race-horse before run- 
 ning : he is then light,, and fit to go his best at once. 
 The boar, on the other hand, has been feeding all 
 night ; though he feeds and keeps on till morning at 
 most seasons of the year : especially in the sugar- 
 cane, where he cuts and grubs an incredible quantity 
 in a very small space of ground. 
 
 You should, then, on sighting your hog, if he is 
 fairly in the open, shriek your tally-ho, and get your 
 horse well between your thighs. Keep your hands 
 down and your head up, your spear balanced with 
 the point forward, and, so that you can keep it clear 
 of branches or bushes, about as high as your own 
 face. This will bring the end of the butt within two 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 59 
 
 feet of the ground. Your right Land with the spear 
 is also on your reins, behind your bridle-hand. 
 
 In passing through bushes, you bring the point 
 more forward, almost between the horse's ears, or 
 defend your own head and body from blows with 
 the shaft. Carrying it thus, if your horse falls with 
 you, the spear point is before him and you. When 
 you near your hog, j-ou, of course, bring the point 
 down to whichever side of your horse the hog is on. 
 At the moment of spearing, you should have enough 
 iu your horse to spring him, if I may use the ex- 
 pression, up alongside the animal.. If spearing to 
 your right, the left heel uses the spur ; if to your 
 left, the right heel and spur. I never shorten the 
 bridles on the side to which I turn my horse, whether 
 I am rushing him up alongside a. hog, or turning 
 him for any purpose. On the contrary, if I wish to 
 turn my horse to the right, I tighten the left bridles 
 shorter than the right ones; which, also, are never 
 allowed to be at all loose, and vice versa. I knot my 
 snaffle rein ; it therefore requires but a turn of the 
 hand, to turn my horse. All my horses are broken 
 in to this ; and in a few days, if a horse's head is put 
 properly on to his neck — and I never buy any horse 
 which is not well made there — I teach my young 
 cattle to turn at speed, and almost in their own 
 length : always changing the leading leg for the 
 occasion. 
 
 To return to our bacon. Do not waste time in 
 
60 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 long lunges with your spear; though, if the taking 
 the first is a very near thing, and your opponent 
 is as close to the hog as you are, the point is likely 
 to be decided in favour of him who has the spear 
 hand, that is, of him who has the hog on the right 
 of him. An experienced hunter, and one who is 
 pliant and clings well to his sadde, now gets the 
 spear, by lying very forward, with his head nearly 
 on level with and before his saddle bow. His legs 
 are at the same moment well round his horse. 
 
 The action is, of course, little more than momen- 
 tary; and it requires a horseman to be in good 
 practice at constantly turning his horse and stooping 
 down on either side of the saddle, as well as to be in 
 good riding condition, to do this feat — a dangerous 
 one, inasmuch as your weight is very much off the 
 balance, and you are so much on one side that if 
 your horse put his feet in a hole, he would almost 
 to a certainty be overbalanced, and both of you 
 would be pitched on to the top of the boar. 
 
 The deadly places in which to spear a hog are the 
 withers, behind the shoulder, low down — which will 
 strike the heart, liver, or lungs — the backbone and 
 the loins. You may spear in the head ; but in this 
 case you are very apt to break the blade or the shaft 
 of the spear. No one spears there intentionally. 
 
 The only time when the rule of riding at a how's 
 tail bears an exception, is when he has a start of you, 
 and the distance is too short to touch him before 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 61 
 
 he can get to his stronghold, be it hill, jungle, or 
 ravine. Then ride, and try to cut him off, shouting 
 at him to make him keep farther out. This, however, 
 is very difficult ; and when the hog is not blown, it 
 requires a horse most perfectly broken and in hand, 
 as well as that the rider should not only know at 
 what pace exactly his horse is going under him, but 
 that he should know from experience at what speed 
 the hog, also, is going. It must be remembered that 
 he is running cunning; for, directly he finds that, 
 from being nearer the hill or jungle, you have a 
 shorter distance to go, and that this renders his 
 speed of doubtful effect, he will suddenly try and 
 double behind your horse. If you cannot check the 
 horse's speed sufficiently to keep him a little behind 
 the hog, the latter will make good his manoeuvre. 
 At these times, all but savage hog do their best to 
 gain their strongholds, without having to fight for it. 
 On these occasions, when leading and coming up 
 to a lusty boar, if your horse has running in him, 
 and is a powerful one, and the hog does not come 
 to the charge, make your dash at him with spurs 
 in ; spear him from behind over the loins, and drive 
 the spear clean through him, and out at his chest. 
 Then passing on, holding fast the butt-end of the 
 spear, you bring the boar round on his fore-legs, 
 with his head away from you; the spear, coming 
 out, leaves his head exactly the contrary way to 
 that in which he was running. The next rider, if 
 
62 WILD SPOETS OF IKDIA. 
 
 he has his spear ready and down, should just catch 
 the hoar now^and kill him. But if his spear is not 
 ready, and he pretty quick with it, there is every 
 chance of his having his horse ripped ; for the boar, 
 incensed by your having speared him, rushes at the 
 next horseman who is between him and the point 
 which he was making for. 
 
 An example of this once happened to us when 
 hunting in that terrible ground, nothing but rock, 
 near Joula, in the Hingolee hills. 
 
 The country here consists of deep, stony ravines, 
 with a considerable extent of jungle, and a few 
 hundred yards of plain, so stony that you can see no 
 soil at all between the ravines. The run therefore 
 is very short; and a day's hunting here lays your 
 horse up, with the skin cut off his heels and pasterns, 
 for a fortnight. 
 
 We met a large sounder crossing from one ravine 
 to the other ; a quarter of a mile was the extent of 
 the ground. There was one immense, large, lusty 
 boar among them. I was mounted on a fifteen- 
 hand, and very large, speedy Arab. A young 
 native officer, a Naga by family, of the gallant 
 3rd Nizam's cavalry, was out with me. Poor lad ! 
 About a year after this he was killed by a violent 
 horse striking him with his head, which knocked 
 him off: he fell on the top of his head, and dislocated 
 his neck. 
 
 He was mounted on his famous racing galloway, 
 
HOG-HUNTING. C3 
 
 Luddoo, and was a beautiful rider, seven stone six 
 in weight only. The large boar was running cun- 
 ning ; and when he got to within "fifty yards of the 
 ravine, he .made 'his rush. I also made mine ; and my 
 large Arab being full of running, it was like letting 
 go a bow-string. In a second my spear was through 
 the boar, and -he was turned right round, and left 
 with his head the way from which he had come. 
 The young lad was close behind me, and going so 
 fast that he missed his spear, and pulled up standing. 
 The boar made a bound at him. By a short spurt, 
 my horse was just in time, as the big brute's head 
 passed behind the rider's loins and over the horse's 
 back to get round and inside of the two ; and when 
 the boar saw this, he charged direct The spear 
 again went right through him, but did not stop him. 
 He caught the horse and cut him in the chest ; and, 
 passing between his fore legs, already stretched, 
 brought him up on three legs lame. 
 
 This boar was not recovered till next morning, 
 when he was found dead. The horse was laid up for 
 twenty days. There is more credit in killing one 
 hog on this bad ground, than a dozen on the plains : 
 and at most seasons of "the year the big boars prefer 
 lying under the rocks, in the cool tops of the hills, to 
 being below with the sounder. 
 
 It is very exciting beating a hill, with perhaps one 
 hundred or one hundred and fifty beaters, and half-a- 
 dozen men ready to ride directly the hog are driven 
 
64 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 off. This is not an easy task ; and with the best and 
 most steady beaters, hog will often refuse to be driven 
 from these favourite hills. In some places it is ad- 
 vantageous for all the riders to be with the beaters, 
 in line and in pairs. They do not gallop till the hog 
 have left the hill. Men should be placed up in trees 
 all round, to give information of this. In other 
 places the riders are posted at certain points below 
 the hill; but these must on no account show their 
 horses, nor must they attempt to ride until the hog 
 are well clear : say a furlong or more from the hill. 
 Good sport is often spoiled by the too forward eager- 
 ness of young sportsmen to get off after the hog, and 
 by not giving him sufficient space clear of the hill. 
 In some parts of the country, when hog cannot be 
 driven out of the jungles or hills, it is a good plan to 
 find out from what particular feeding-ground hog 
 come in the morning to the jungle or hill. Then 
 make a line, each pair of riders being some two 
 hundred yards apart, and, say, a mile from the hill. 
 The animals return very early, and you must be on 
 the ground, if anything, before daylight. 
 
 The distances that hog will go for then* food, 
 at some seasons of the year, when grain is scarce, 
 are almost incredible. A boar was killed by the 
 villagers at one place where I was hunting, in the 
 Aurungabad district; and, on cutting him up, they 
 found green grain in his stomach. They assured 
 me that there was no grain growing within twelve 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 65 
 
 coss — twenty-four miles — from the spot; so that, 
 supposing this hog had gone in a straight line, 
 he must have travelled forty-eight miles, at least, 
 that night. 
 
 I have heen very fortunate in not having had 
 horses hadly ripped. Such things happen as a horse's 
 entrails being let out by one glance ; and I have 
 known horses in their stables from sis and eight 
 months, from the effects of a boar's tusks. 
 
 I generally ride with a sword at my side, so that, 
 after breaking my spear, I can finish my hog ; though, 
 if there are other riders, it is not of consequence. 
 Sabreing hog, that is, cutting them down, is not 
 easy ; but using the point is, I think, both more easy 
 and effective than the edge. Why the sport has 
 never been attempted in Europe, I cannot conceive. 
 I should suppose that in the forests in Germany there 
 must here and there be open glades and clear spaces, 
 where a horse could catch a hog and a spearsman kill 
 him ; and I have often wished for the acquaintance of 
 one of the jolly old barons who would be good enough 
 to mount me, and allow me to try and kill the 
 sanglier. I think that I could do it without hounds 
 or carbines. 
 
 Do not fall into the error of using very long spears, 
 or very light ones: eight feet is long enough for 
 anything. With reference to the choice of horses 
 for hog-hunters, there is no doubt that, if you can 
 ride under fourteen stone, saddle and everything, a 
 
 5 
 
66 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 good Arab is the best horse you can have. Again, 
 if your purse is a poor one, and especially if you can 
 ride eleven stone with everything up, you may suit 
 yourself very well with a good Deccan inare, or 
 galloway, which will kill the best hog that ever ran, 
 in three quarters of a mile, if you get off with him. 
 They are very courageous, and, from having excel- 
 lent feet and being used to the stones, are as good 
 as any horses that can be got, over ravines and 
 corries. 
 
 I myself weigh from eleven stone to eleven stone 
 seven pounds, and, riding in large Whippy's saddles, 
 rarely get up under thirteen stone altogether. I have 
 had Deccan galloways only thirteen hands two inches 
 high, off which I have, single-handed, hilled hog on 
 very bad ground. 
 
 I am not aware of any code of rules that have 
 been written for hog-hunting. It is very probable 
 that such do exist in Bengal, for I hardly think that 
 it is possible that the great hunts that existed there 
 in former years, with hundreds of members, could 
 have been kept together as a body, or made to ride 
 to order in a field, without some written rules known 
 to all its members. Those might have been consi- 
 dered the palmy days of hog-hunting, when the 
 great plains of Plassy were covered with grass, and 
 where one rider off one horse took twenty-one first 
 spears in one day, and where 5,000 rupees were 
 offered, and refused, for the noble Arab on the spot ; 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 67 
 
 but it must be remembered that our fathers and 
 grandfathers, before the time the Bengal hog-hunter 
 took to the jobbing spear of the present day, used to 
 throw their weapons at the hog, and turned their 
 horses to the near side. 
 
 I have heard, but cannot now remember, what was 
 the number of contested spears that a hunter must 
 have taken before he was qualified to be elected as a 
 member of the old Harra Hunt, or at the death of 
 how many hog it was necessary for him to have been 
 present. 
 
 The plan of throwing spears must have been most 
 dangerous, but there are no chronicles to tell us how 
 many horses and men were annually wounded at 
 these great hunts. It is dangerous enough now in 
 the present day, when men never intentionally let go 
 then* spears, to ride with a lot of youngsters in high 
 jowarre (a coarse grain used for food instead of 
 wheat, and growing from four to seven feet high), 
 and spear points are constantly glancing within a 
 few inches of the riders' bodies when hunting 
 and turning hog through this grain. Amusing in- 
 cidents happen of men on heavy horses riding down 
 men on lighter ones without any notice whatever 
 being taken. 
 
 If two or more riders start after a sounder of hog, 
 the man who first comes up should select the biggest 
 boar in that sounder ; all those, then, who mean to 
 contend for the spear must pursue that one for any 
 
 5—2 
 
68 WILD SPOUTS OF INDIA. - 
 
 one of them to claim the spear of honour. It is 
 usual, especially if there is any grass or cultivation 
 to hinder the sight, for the first rider coming up to 
 shout out, " the Boar!" and the animal thus selected 
 generally rushes to the front through the rest of the 
 sounder. If this rider makes a palpable mistake, 
 and any other one takes up a larger boar out of the 
 sounder, and rides and spears him, he is at liberty to 
 claim the first spear of the large boar of the sounder. 
 Any one taking a sow, though much bigger and 
 bulkier than the boar, cannot claim the first spear if 
 a boar is killed. Now in Bengal hog are so numerous 
 that they do not spear sows, and from the nature of 
 the ground they can see distinctly of what sex the 
 animal is when they first lay into it; but in the Dec- 
 can and Nagpore, where we often ride a mile after 
 the hog have broken before we see the animal, it has 
 been ruled that boars and sows should both be ridden, 
 and the latter indeed is generally much more speedy 
 than the former, while in fighting she is quite as 
 courageous. The destruction of sows, if carried on 
 for many seasons, will eventually kill off the breed 
 of wild hog in any country, and the system of kill- 
 ing a sow with a lot of little ones about her is much 
 to be reprehended ; for all these little ones, after the 
 death of their protector, fall a prey to wolves, hyenas, 
 and even jackals. If you are very hard up for some- 
 thing to eat, spear one or two of the little ones; 
 they are uncommon good eating, and afford great 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 69 
 
 fun from the difficulty of spearing them, hut spare 
 the sow. 
 
 I have alluded in another place to the over anxiety 
 of young sportsmen to commence riding before the 
 word is given. Let the starter — that is, the rider 
 who is to give the word — he appointed beforehand, 
 and before this word no one should stir. Accustom 
 yourself to spear on the left-hand side, for hog 
 when pressed swerve from side to side, and the 
 man who cannot use his spear on both equally well 
 loses half his chance against an opponent equally 
 well mounted, who is skilful in this matter. Many 
 hog are lost by riders, on coming up to them, not 
 keeping between them and the jungle they wish to 
 turn back to. 
 
 A good horseman on a good hunter should always 
 be able to cut his hog out from the jungle, if he has 
 broken from it two hundred yards, provided the 
 ground is good. It is the reckless riding of young- 
 sters on very speedy horses that constantly heads hog 
 back to a jungle from which they have fairly broken, 
 and all the riding of the experienced hunter cannot 
 correct a mistake of this sort. 
 
 In the next chapter, I propose treating of tiger- 
 shooting on foot. Let me impress upon my reader 
 that this is the most dangerous sport in India ; and I 
 warn him against following it. At the same time, 
 it may be pursued successfully by the sportsman 
 who, confident in his own nerve and shooting, pro- 
 
70 WILD SPORTS OP INDIA. 
 
 ceeds cautiously and attends most strictly to the 
 following instructions. 
 
 Two native hunters of approved courage, and in 
 the habit of meeting wild animals of the forest face 
 to face, without losing their presence of mind snd 
 turning tbeir backs, must be engaged by you for the 
 purpose of carrying your spare rifles, and of track- 
 ing the game both before and after it has been 
 wounded. They should be able to shoot, so far as 
 to hit an animal standing pretty close to them ; for 
 thus much may be necessary, in the event of your 
 own rifle missing fire or being unloaded, and there 
 not being time for you to take the weapon from their 
 hands. 
 
 These shikarees should also be able to clean your 
 rifles. They must have keen sight, and have all 
 their faculties about them; they must be not easily 
 tired by any amount of work, patient in thirst 
 and hunger, and naturally light and silent walkers 
 in the forest They must be accustomed not to 
 speak, unless spoken to or questioned by you ; and 
 you, on your part, must treat them with kindness, 
 and remember, that at any moment you may owe. 
 your life to their courage. 
 
 There must be an understood compact between 
 the three of you that no one is to desert the other, 
 under any circumstances of danger whatever. 
 
 I have found the most difficult duty to teach this 
 class of men is, to make them follow me closely 
 
HOG-HUNTING. 71 
 
 in the forest The shikaree, who has in his hand 
 the rifle you require to use immediately after you 
 have discharged the one you carry, should step into 
 your footsteps, and that so closely, that he can hand 
 you his loaded rifle without causing you to turn 
 back your head, or take your eye off the animal 
 fired at. This is of the utmost importance; for 
 game, in these heavy jungles, once lost sight of, is 
 usually lost altogether; while, in the attack of the 
 tiger or savage animal, the human eye fixed, without 
 wavering in its steadfast gaze from the eyes of the 
 animal, exerts a power which, of itself, appears to he 
 sufficient, either to stop the meditated attack, or turn 
 the animal in his career. Instances of this will be 
 hereafter adduced. 
 
 Though your shikarees should know how to load 
 your rifles, except in emergent cases, do not allow 
 them to do so. Such a case might happen as your 
 having discharged your own rifle, taken the spare 
 one, and have a wounded tiger in a bush before you ; 
 your eye, of course, must not be taken off him; it 
 will then be well for your shikaree to load your 
 empty rifle. 
 
 An intimate knowledge of the tracks of wild ani- 
 mals, and of their habits, is necessary in the shikarees 
 you employ. Of course, after some time, you will 
 acquire this knowledge yourself; but it can only be 
 gained by experience and constant practice in the 
 jungle. 
 
72 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 I shall take every opportunity that offers in the 
 following pages to instil this knowledge into the minds 
 of my readers ; for, as I have elsewhere mentioned, 
 I hope to make my little book one of instruction. 
 
 In the meanwhile, let us to the tale of the Man- 
 eaters, the killing of which occurs very seldom in the 
 life of any sportsman. 
 
73 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE MAN-EATER. 
 Tiger-shooting on Foot, and from Trees — Adventures. 
 
 TiGER-shooting in India, as is generally known, is a 
 sport commonly pursued by men in houdahs, on the 
 backs of elephants ; -this is the method employed by 
 those who can afford to keep elephants for the sport, 
 or can borrow them for the occasion. 
 
 Tigers are also killed by shikarees (hunters), 
 European or native, who make mechauns up in trees 
 (platforms of boughs), with a charpoy, or native bed, 
 fastened on them, and tie a bullock below ; — when 
 the animal kills the bullock, or returns to eat, they 
 shoot him. These, then, are the usual ways of de- 
 stroying tigers — I might say common tigers : for if 
 the tigers are man-eaters, they are generally so cun- 
 ning, that they will not come near a mechaun on the 
 tree ; or the country they live, in may probably be 
 too rocky and mountainous for elephants to be used. 
 "With this preface I will proceed to the tale of two 
 man-eaters which I destroyed, and to whose destruc- 
 tion I shall ever look back with feelings of the 
 greatest satisfaction. 
 
 It was on the 22nd of April, 1856, that I came to 
 
74 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 a village, by name Painderdee, in the Raipore dis- 
 trict of the Nagpore province, intending to march 
 through the ghauts, or mountain passes, to Lanjee, 
 which I thought to be my direct road from Belaspore, 
 — where I had been inspecting a detachment of 
 troops under my command — to Bhundarah, where I 
 had to inspect another detachment. The weather 
 was so hot that I had been obliged, while standing at 
 the head of a ravine waiting for a tiger, to pour the 
 , drinking water out of my chagul, or leather bottle, 
 over my shooting boots — though this water, in an 
 arid, parched district, was very precious — to enable 
 me to stand on the ground. 
 
 I had killed to my own rifle sixteen head of large 
 game in fourteen successive days, between the 1st 
 and 14th of April: viz. two tigers, full grown, 
 eight bears, seven of them full grown, five deer, of 
 different sorts, and a wolf: — all on foot, except one 
 tiger and one bear, and marching the while. I had 
 been travelling between twenty and twenty-five miles 
 a day since; my people and cattle were therefore 
 knocked up. 
 
 At Painderdee I was told that the mountain passes 
 were impracticable for my baggage, and that I must 
 strike down into the direct road between Raipore and 
 Bhundarah, and that, indeed, this was as short a way 
 as the other ; while twenty -five miles from where I 
 was, at a village called Doongurghur (i. e. mountain 
 abode), there was a pair of man-eating tigers, which 
 
THE MAN-EATER. 75 
 
 had desolated the village, and killed a great number 
 of the inhabitants. My determination was taken: I 
 felt this was a call : and forthwith ordered the march 
 for the morrow to a place twenty miles from Pain- 
 derdee, and within five of Doongurghur. 
 
 My tents, as usual, were started after dinner, at 9 
 o'clock p.m., and I started at two o'clock next morn- 
 ing. At seven o'clock I came to my intended halting 
 place ; at which, as it happened, there was no water 
 fit to drink, consequently my people had not pitched 
 the tents. I ordered them to start at once for 
 Doongurghur, where there was a tank, or lake, cele- 
 brated for its fine water, and for never drying up in 
 the hottest season. 
 
 All the villagers, with the exception of one family, 
 had, however, been either killed or had run away ; 
 supplies there were none. These therefore were 
 ordered to be forwarded to us, and the zemindars', or 
 landholders' chuprassees promised to attend to this 
 business. 
 
 The rajah — as he was called, but who was only a 
 wealthy zemindar, or landholder, of Eyraghur — the 
 great town of that part, sent me word that every- 
 thing should be done, that his two elephants and all 
 his shikarees (native hunters) were at my disposal, 
 and begged me to go and destroy these man-eaters. 
 He himself had tried a short time before with his 
 elephants, but had not succeeded. 
 
 The last victim of the man-eaters was the Byra- 
 
76 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 ghee, or holy man, who officiated at the temple of the 
 village. The rajah, upon this, had hired five native 
 hunters (shikarees), men who are in the habit of 
 shooting tigers, who went to the place to recover the 
 body of the holy man ; but the stories they heard at 
 Doongurghur were sufficient. They fled the fight ; 
 and no wonder, when you consider that these poor 
 fellows are armed with the matchlock only, and that 
 these mountain tigers keep such a look-out from their 
 high fastnesses that not a man can move in the jungle 
 or forest, except in the heat of the day, without their 
 seeing him. 
 
 I started with my shikarees at once for Doongur- 
 ghur, and had proceeded about two and a half miles, 
 when I found two natives with matchlocks, one up in 
 a tree, and the other hid at the foot of it. Address- 
 ing them, I asked : " What of the man-eating tigers? 
 and to shoot what, are you sitting up there ? " They 
 replied that they were waiting to shoot the chikara, 
 or ravine deer, the gazelle of Arabia ; and that as to 
 the tigers, they knew nothing of them. I took one 
 of their matchlocks in my hand as I rode along, 
 praised the weapon, and said, " Come, you and I are 
 brothers. You are a shikaree, and so am I: you 
 must come and assist me in killing these tigers." 
 The man came very unwillingly ; and his friend also, 
 having got down from the tree, followed. In a short 
 time we arrived at Doongurghur. 
 
 There was the beautiful and cool lake, deep and 
 
THE MAN-EATER. 77 
 
 still, and the desolate village by its shore. A chu- 
 prassee of the rajah, and two men and a boy, being 
 the single family who had remained, came at length 
 out of their huts. The elder man was the kullal, or 
 wine-maker and vendor of the village. He had the 
 most property, and therefore had remained when all 
 the rest had fled or been killed. His eyes were like 
 a ferret's, and he was well primed with drink, which 
 had kept him to the sticking point. When the sup- 
 plies had arrived ; I got a lot of tobacco, and made it 
 common to all; had the shikarees fed to their 
 stomachs' content, and made my own shikarees, two 
 in number, get their food, which I always had ready 
 cooked for them. They were men of low caste, but 
 of the most proved courage. Both had been with 
 me for years ; and though they could not shoot- — not 
 being allowed to fire off my guns — they had never 
 seen any animal make good his charge, or escape 
 being either cut down, wounded, or turned by my 
 heavy rifles; they stood by me, therefore, without 
 fear. At some other place I will describe them. 
 
 The stories here related regarding the number of 
 people killed by these tigers, their ferocity and daring 
 — even to the extent of coming into the village at 
 night, and pulling the people out of their huts — were 
 something almost incredible. I may here mention 
 that, though I commonly shoot tigers, and indeed any 
 animal, and every kind of the genus ferox which I 
 meet in the jungle, on foot, I am not a professed 
 
78 "WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 tiger-shooter on foot, I intended to shoot them from 
 trees, if possible. The animal commonly is very 
 "wary; seldom venturing into villages, for fear of 
 being entrapped. 
 
 The naib duffadar, or rather lance naick, of my 
 small guard, who was himself a shikaree, volunteered 
 to go and look out for a place where I might sit up 
 in a tree, near a shallow and muddy tank with a little 
 water, at the foot of the large mountain, and to tie 
 one of my small bullocks — a beast about twenty 
 months old — there. Having taken with him one of 
 my double guns, as well as the three villagers, and 
 one of the shikarees, to make the mechaun, he started 
 at the very hottest time of the day, about 2 p.m. 
 This was the most unlikely hour for him to be seen 
 or heard by the tiger. 
 
 The spot he went to was not above four hundred 
 yards from my tent or the village, and at the foot of 
 that part of the mountain whence the male tiger, or 
 large man-eater, usually descended. The naick had 
 one of my double-barrelled guns with him, the other 
 men had spears. This tiger was the slayer of the 
 priest ; and so powerful and large was he, that his 
 custom was to take up his victims in his mouth and 
 carry them up to the mountain. Their bodies were 
 never recovered. 
 
 About five o'clock P.M., the naick came into the 
 camp, a good deal alarmed, saying that he had not 
 finished the mechaun, for the shikaree, lie was afraid, 
 
THE MAN-EATEB. 79 
 
 had been carried off; that the man was just below 
 the tree, cutting wood, with leaves to make the cur- 
 tains to conceal the shooter in the mechaun, but that 
 he had suddenly disappeared. 
 
 I immediately ordered my shikarees to get my 
 rifles, intending to go and recover the body of the 
 man. But I inquired very anxiously which of the 
 two shikarees he was, still supposing that the man 
 must have fled through fear. It was soon discovered 
 that the man who had gone with the naick was he 
 who had come of his own accord. I started for the 
 spot, and, on arriving at it, heard the spotted deer 
 roused and utter the shrill bark which they do when 
 suddenly alarmed by a tiger, or any animal that 
 kills them. Telling the naick to finish the mechaun 
 quickly, and that I should be within a circle of a few 
 hundred yards, I went in search of the body of the 
 man, whom I then supposed killed. It turned out, 
 the next day, that he had fled, through fear, to his 
 own village, some three or four miles off. 
 
 After searching for some time in vain, I was re- 
 turning in the direction of the mechaun, when I 
 heard the axe of the people that were making it, and, 
 on arrival, I found all of them up in it, looking 
 intently into the ravine below. On asking why they 
 were up there, they replied, " The tiger is just below 
 us." I looked, but could see nothing in the dense 
 jungle. The sun had set, and it was nearly dark. 
 Thinking the tiger might spring out on us, if he 
 
80 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 thought there was but one or two, I spoke loudly, 
 telling them to get down ; . and thus noisily we re- 
 turned to the camp. This was made secure for the 
 night. All the horses, bullocks, and cattle were 
 brought within the smallest space they could be 
 picketed in, the carts dragged outside of them, and 
 large fires lit every twenty yards. Over and above 
 the regular sentry of dismounted troopers, the ser- 
 vants were told off, and these furnished some four 
 more sentries, with a relief every two hours. My 
 two heavy double rifles had the whitest little bits of 
 cotton stuck with bees'-wax at the sights near the 
 muzzles, and were placed on the chair by my cot. 
 The large-bored single rifle, a two ounce one, with 
 a double charge of powder, lay ready to my hand 
 under the bed. 
 
 Of a pitch dark night, if a tiger jumps into a 
 camp and seizes any one, he is out of it again with 
 one bound. My own plan is to fire off the heaviest 
 charged piece at hand ; as, at the sound of the sud- 
 den shot, there is a good chance of the tiger dropping 
 his victim, who, unless killed by the spring and first 
 blow, may thus be recovered. 
 
 All that night the lungoor — these are the baboon 
 of India, and stand, when on their hind legs, five 
 and a half feet high — were chattering and hootino- on 
 the branches of the trees, up to the very edge of the 
 camp. These animals, which live in the mountains 
 with the tigers and panthers, never allow them to 
 
THE MAN-EATER. 81 
 
 move without following them, and by jumping from . 
 branch to branch of the trees, over their heads, they 
 warn other animals and man of the tiger's approach. 
 The horses also this night were very uneasy ; but the 
 fires and constant watchfulness of the sentries kept 
 the tigers out. 
 
 I waited for daylight with much anxiety; and, 
 directly there was sufficient light, rubbing the cotton 
 off my rifle sights, I got my people up, and started 
 for the place where the calf had been tied. The 
 kullal, or wine-maker, was taken as a guide, lest we 
 should lose ourselves in the jungle, and also to carry 
 the drinking water. Scarcely two hundred yards 
 had been passed, when we heard the tiger, which 
 infested that part of the forest, roar loudly. The 
 poor villager, the father of the only remaining 
 familv, whispered, " Wuh hai — that is he ! that's the 
 tiger who owns my village." I replied, " If you run, 
 you are a dead man ; keep behind us." Placing in 
 front my head shikaree, Mangkalee, who has very 
 o-ood sight, while, in the dusk, my own is very bad, 
 we hurried along the path. 
 
 Coming to some rocks from which I knew that 
 the tied-up calf could be seen, and thinking that the 
 shikaree might not have remembered the spot, I 
 pulled him back cautiously. I looked. There was 
 the white calf apparently dead. Mangkalee remarked 
 as much, in a whisper. The younger shikaree, 
 Nursoo, was behind me on the left. We all gazed 
 
 6 
 
82 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 at a tail. The distance was some sixty yards from 
 us, but we could not make out the tiger. At length 
 the end of the tail moved. Nursoo, making a similar 
 motion with his fore-finger, whispered in my ear, 
 " Doom-hilta-hai "— (" The tail's moving.") I now 
 made out the body of the animal clear enough. 
 Not a blade of grass nor a leaf was between us. A 
 single forest tree, without a branch on it for thirty feet 
 from the ground, was twenty yards nearer the tiger. 
 
 It was very probable that he would see us, but it 
 must be risked; so, pressing down my shikaree, 
 Mangkalee, with my hand behind me, and keeping 
 the trunk of the tree between the foe and me, while 
 I said within myself, "God be with me? If I get 
 behind that tree without your seeing me, you're a 
 dead tiger," I passed rapidly forward. So intent 
 was the huge beast upon the poor calf, that he did 
 not hear me. I placed the barrels of my rifle against 
 the tree, but was obliged to wait. 
 
 The tiger and the calf lay contiguous, tails on end 
 to us. The calf's neck was in the tiger's mouth, 
 whose large paws embraced his victim. I looked, 
 waiting for some change in the position of the body 
 to allow me to aim at a vital part. 
 
 There were some forty paces between us. As all 
 rifle-shooters know, this is a very uncertain distance, 
 and one at which all the polygrooved rifles with a 
 large charge of powder, that I have seen tried, rise 
 from four to six inches. 
 
THE MAN-EATEB. 83 
 
 The weapon I had in my hand was a very broad- 
 belted, two-grooved rifle, by Wilkinson, carrying 
 balls some ten to the pound; and only four days 
 before this, I had proved that, when loaded with the 
 bullet-mould full of powder, it carried its ball point- 
 blank, without rising or falling, for about ninety 
 yards. Strange it was that I had had this rifle by 
 me for three years; but, owing to having a very 
 favourite double, polygrooved rifle, some pounds 
 heavier, by Westly Richards, to which I was much 
 attached, I had but very rarely used the Wilkinson. 
 
 At length the calf gave a struggle and kicked the 
 tiger, on which the latter clasped him nearer, arching 
 his own body, and exposing the white of his belly 
 and chest. I pulled the trigger very slowly, aiming 
 at the white, and firing for his heart — he was on his 
 left side — as if I was firing at an egg for a thousand 
 pounds. 
 
 I knew that I hit the spot aimed at ; but, to my 
 astonishment, the tiger sprang up several feet in the 
 air with a xoar, rolled over, and towards me — for he 
 was on higher ground than I was — when, bounding 
 to his feet, as if unscathed, he made for the moun- 
 tains, the last rock of which was within forty yards 
 of him. 
 
 I must acknowledge that, firing at a beast of this 
 sort, with no vital part to ami at, standing as I was 
 for some time looking at him, and on lower ground, 
 my heart beat rather quicker than was its wont 
 
 6—2 
 
84 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 Albeit, I had never turned my back to any animal in 
 the jungles, and not one had ever seen its shape ! I 
 was confident, too, in my own nerve and shooting, for 
 I had cut down, with one exception — and that one 
 had cut me down as the scythe does the grass — every 
 wild beast of the forest. 
 
 Immediately the tiger sprang to his feet and 
 exposed his broad left side to me, I stepped from 
 behind the tree, looked at him in the face with 
 contempt, as if he had been a sheep, and while he 
 passed me with every hair set, his beautiful white 
 beard and whiskers spread, and his eye like fire, 
 with the left barrel I shot him through the heart. 
 He went straight and at undiminished speed, each 
 bound covering fifteen feet at least, for twenty-five 
 yards, and then fell on his head under the lowest 
 rock of the mountain in which was his stronghold. 
 Up went in the air his thick, stumpy tail. Seizing 
 my other rifle, I walked up to about fifteen yards of 
 him — for he was still opening his mouth and gasping 
 — and broke his back. Turning round to the poor 
 villager who, now the tiger was dead, was afraid 
 to come near him, I patted him on the shoulder, 
 and said, " There is your enemy, old man : now, 
 where does the tigress live?" "I know nothing 
 about her," said the man, trembling all over (and 
 no wonder) ; " this was the owner of my village. I 
 know nothing at all of the tigress. She takes her water 
 at the other side of the village, and a long way off." 
 
THE MAN-EATEE. 85 
 
 I returned to my camp, only four hundred yards 
 off, took a cup of tea, and ordered them to bring in 
 the man-eater. He "was the largest, as far as bulk 
 and muscular power, of any tiger I had ever seen. 
 His 'extreme length, as he lay dead, was ten feet 
 eighf inches ; his tail was only three feet three — an 
 extraordinary short tail. This it was, with its great 
 thickness, which made us notice it. His head was 
 very large. The points of all the large fangs were 
 considerably broken: this had saved the calf, who, 
 though much scratched, and with sundry holes in his 
 neck, was alive, and is now well and happy with my 
 milch cattle at Nagpore. 
 
 The jugular artery, which the tiger always has to 
 divide in order to suck the blood, had been missed ; 
 though, doubtless, in another minute, the poor calf's 
 head would have been munched off. The villagers 
 from all sides flocked in to see the man-eater. The 
 rajah, or rather the landholder of the district, sent 
 many congratulations and thanks. Thirteen quarts 
 of fat were taken from this lusty animal. 
 
 T he mokassee, or renter of the village, came and 
 begged a pipkin full. " Of course," I replied ; " it 
 is the fat of your own villagers." He grinned a 
 ghastly smile. It was too true to be a joke, and the 
 remembrance too recent to be relished. I ordered a 
 couple of goats to be killed for the people, and imme- 
 diately started to look for the tigress. But, though I 
 found her footmarks on the other side of the moun- 
 
86 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 tain, I was not successful. Returned at eleven A.M., 
 again out at four o'clock, shot a spotted deer, and 
 stayed out till dark, but saw no tigress. 
 
 Being sleepy, from having been kept awake the 
 night before, I -went to bed at nine o'clock, after 
 cautioning the duffadar to have all the fires lit, and 
 the sentries posted, as before. I particularly warned 
 him that there was another man-eater near. 
 
 I had scarcely been to sleep an hour, before I was 
 awoke by a shout from the duffadar, that one of the 
 troopers was carried off by the tiger. I leaped out 
 of bed, and seizing the large single two-ounce rifle, 
 kept loaded with powder only for the purpose, I fired 
 it off in the air. It was pitch dark ; not a bit of fire 
 in the camp, save one or two embers near the spot 
 were the trooper was seized, and over which the 
 tigress had sprung on her victim. I got my clothes 
 on as rapidly as possible, buckled on my sword, and 
 seized one of my rifles : my younger shikaree, Nursoo, 
 took the other. My khidmutgar, or table servant, a 
 man by name Fakir Ahmed, got my candlestick and 
 shade ; and the villagers, a number of whom had 
 remained in the village, rushed down with torches 
 into the camp. My shikaree Mangkalee could not at 
 first be found. The duffadar told me in which direc- 
 tion the tigress had gone. He had been standing 
 within five paces of the man : in fact, he was seeing 
 the sentry changed. The poor fellow who was 
 seized was putting on his belts to go on duty. There 
 
THE MAN-EATER. 87 
 
 was a dry ravine, without any jungle in it, which 
 ran up to the camp. The tigress had stolen up that, 
 and sprung on the man's chest, seizing him by the 
 mouth, and so systematically closing it that the poor 
 fellow could never reply to his name. I shouted it — 
 Gholam Hoossain Khan — till I was hoarse. Spring- 
 ing into the ravine, I followed it up rapidly, thinking 
 that the only chance of recovering the man was to 
 get up to the foot of the mountain, some five hundred 
 yards distant, before she could carry him there. I 
 heard one sigh, and followed in that direction. In 
 vain ! We returned. It was ten minutes to twelve, 
 the moon just rising. There was a faint hope that 
 the poor fellow had been dropped, and had climbed 
 up a tree, but was afraid to answer. 
 
 I returned to bed, but could not sleep. The 
 tragedy of the night was not to be forgotten so sud- 
 denly ; and at about three o'clock in the morning I 
 again heard the hooting of the large monkeys. 
 Shortly after, I heard an extraordinary noise, which 
 I could not make out at first. I questioned the 
 sentry. He replied that it was the lungoor (the 
 monkeys); but I made out the tigress growl, and the 
 crunching of the poor trooper's bones. It was no 
 use any more risking life in the dark ; besides, the 
 tragedy was most probably being finished in the 
 mountain above, where human foot could scarcely 
 climb, even in the daytime. At daylight we started. 
 No nice tracking was required. The tigress had 
 
88 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 dragged the body of the trooper across the deep sandy 
 ravine, and there were his sword-belt, his turban, 
 trousers, and other parts of his dress in each bush. 
 
 Putting the villagers on this track, which they 
 could not fail to follow, I asked, " On what mountain- 
 path can I intercept the tigress?" The mokassee, 
 turning to one of the villagers, said, "Take the 
 sahib to the water, a spot where she has killed and 
 broken up four or five people." I started and 
 mounted the first ledge of rocks, in the hopes of 
 catching her before her return, but in vain. After 
 waiting some time, I went towards the spot where I 
 had left the others ; and, seeing some crows on the 
 tree, came up to the place where lay the body of the 
 poor trooper, at the same time the duffadar and 
 villagers found it. She had eaten off one of his legs 
 only, up to the knee. W e had passed within fifteen 
 yards of the body in the night. I talked a good 
 deal to the Mussulmans about our being both men of 
 the book, and not infidels ; that they were of the 
 same opinion as I was, that when the soul had fled, 
 the remainder was but dust; that I would just as 
 soon be eaten by tigers or jackals as be put into the 
 finest mausoleum, which is truly my own feeling as 
 to my mortal remains : — all in hop es that they would 
 allow the body of the trooper to remain, when I 
 should have made sure of having the tigress back to 
 eat it. But they thought differently, and took away 
 and buried the body. 
 
THE MAN-EATEK. 89 
 
 On our return, the rajah's shikarees and the 
 mokassee, who was also a hunter, all came to the 
 consultation as to how the tigress was to be killed. 
 I heard them all patiently. Their advice was to 
 make a mechaun near the spot where the body was 
 left. My own plan was to tie a calf — not the poor 
 white one whose life had been rescued, but another, 
 a black one — at the shallow water where the tigress 
 bathed; and, sitting behind the bank of the tank, 
 to shoot her when she came in the evening. 
 
 The first part of my plan was adopted : but they 
 all assured me that they did not know by what path 
 she descended from the hill ; and that she was such 
 a fiend, that she would spring on some of us; since, 
 to shoot her, we should be obliged to sit within 
 reach of the lowest rock. Much against my own 
 inclination, but not liking to go in direct opposition 
 to the advice of so many men, hunters also, and 
 knowing the country and animal so well — since, if 
 an accident happened to any one, all the blame 
 would be put on my shoulders- — I gave in to them. 
 
 At three p.m. they went to make the screen, or 
 shelter, up in the tree. We left for it, with the 
 kullal to carry my water, as usual, at half-past 
 four r.M. I placed my two heavy rifles before me, 
 telling my shikarees that I would not touch them 
 until she came right under us, when I would break 
 her back with a single ball. On no account were 
 they to touch my arm, or move. The unfortunate 
 
90 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 father of a family, the wine-maker, stood behind 
 us, with his eyes always directed to the mountain 
 paths. We had scarcely sat half an hour, when 
 down came the tigress, with her stealthy walk. 
 Evidently she was of the same kind as the male ; 
 short and thick — the regular mountain tiger — her 
 tail did not touch the ground. She was the smallest 
 tigress, for a full-grown one, I had ever seen. My 
 blood boiled within me as I thought, that such a 
 small beast should have killed and carried off my 
 poor trooper; and I have no hesitation in saying, 
 that if I had found her in the plain when I was 
 riding one of my tried hunters, I would have gone 
 at her with the spear. There was some excuse for 
 the big lusty male, with his broken teeth, killing 
 men ; but for this active fiend, made like a panther, 
 and not much larger than one I have killed — for her 
 to take to man-slaying was unpardonable. 
 
 The reason of her not having kept to the sandy 
 ravine was now evident enough. She was not large 
 and strong enough to drag the man, except on the 
 hard ground; so, when pursued, she had dragged 
 him along the bank, and within a few yards of the 
 ravine : the easiest way to the spot at the foot of 
 the hill, where she had afterwards come to eat him. 
 In front of us there was the ravine, which she 
 dropped into, crossed, and then fixed her gaze at 
 the bush under which she had left the man's body. 
 She kept gliding along till she came behind a 
 
THE MAN-EATER. 91 
 
 large forest-tree, about sixty yards from us. I 
 had tied another calf on the clear space before us, 
 in the hopes that, having had but a slight meal, 
 and under the disappointment of not finding the 
 man's body, she would fall on this calf. The latter 
 stood paralysed under the gaze of the tigress, and 
 never moved. He was mesmerized, so to say, though 
 he continued standing. 
 
 The tigress by degrees brought one eye, and then 
 both, round the side of the large tree, and fixed 
 them on me; and thus we looked at one another 
 for at least twenty minutes. What would I not 
 have given to have been on foot now, with my 
 rifle on a rest ! I felt certain of being able to put 
 a ball between her eyes. But the sun was shining 
 on the barrels; to move a finger to take up the 
 rifle was to lose the chance. My shikaree Mang- 
 kalee sat on my right ; he could see her shoulder ; 
 Nursoo was on the left of me; he could see her 
 quarters and loins. It was in order that I might 
 not be induced to fire till she was close to me, 
 that I rested my rifles on the branch that formed 
 the front bar of the mechaun. The unusual object 
 in the tree could not escape her sight. We were 
 twelve feet from the ground, pretty safe: though 
 I have heard of a man being struck out of a tree 
 at twenty-two feet from the ground. The poor 
 villager who, when the tigress came near, had been 
 unable to stand her gaze, had remained with his 
 
92 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 head between his knees and his eyes shaded in his 
 hands. This long suspense he could not brook, 
 and at length scratched his leg with his right hand. 
 The movement was sufficient The tigress slipped 
 into the ravine, and ascended the opposite bank at 
 the same deliberate and stealthy pace. 
 
 I felt the chance was gone, seized my Wilkinson's 
 rifle, and, as she cleared the heavy bushes, shot her, 
 but too far back and low. The ball went through 
 her belly, and fell beyond her. She gave one growl 
 and bound : then moved on quite slowly. The moun- 
 tain, or mass of rocks, towered to the height of seven 
 hundred feet, from about seventy yards the other 
 side of her. Had the rifle-ball missed, there would 
 have been no mistake as to its ricochetting among 
 the rocks, from the hard, gravelly soil. We slid 
 down the tree quickly, and followed on her track in 
 the direction of the water. As we came to the bank 
 of the tank, and looked over, there was the black 
 calf, which had been tied there, dead. His jugular 
 vein had been opened most scientifically. The deed 
 must have been done immediately after the calf had 
 been tied up. Darkness was now coming on. The 
 impregnable mountain was before us ; and I had to 
 return to the tents, with the unpleasant feeling of 
 having lost the tigress by not acting on my own 
 knowledge of shikar, in opposition to the village 
 hunters. Had I sat behind the bank of the tank, I 
 should have shot her whilst sucking the blood of the 
 
THE MAN-EATER. 93 
 
 calf. The shikarees tried to console me, saying that 
 the tigress would die, and that they would recover 
 her for me ; that if she did not return to eat the 
 calf she was a dead tigress. This was my own 
 opinion also, for I knew that at that sultry season of 
 the year, wounds, in such a hot-blooded animal as a 
 tiger, generally cause death. 
 
 At dawn next morning, we started for the spot. 
 This is the dangerous part of tiger-shooting on foot : 
 moving, when it is too dark to see to shoot, in jungles 
 infested by man-eaters. It is the best time, and after 
 dusk in the evening, to sit for the animals. The 
 calf lay there as he was the night before, untouched. 
 I sat beneath the bank, watching, till ten o'clock. 
 The large male of the lungoor monkey came across 
 the short space that divided the ravine and forest 
 from the mountain, where they also lived, at the 
 speed of a race-horse. He sat himself up in a dried 
 and withered tree, within thirty yards of us, his 
 eyes incessantly towards the mountain. After sitting 
 an hour or so, he turned his head and made a gri- 
 mace, as a sign. All his wives and children came 
 across at speed, and up the tree they went. They 
 seemed to comprehend why I was there, and I kept 
 my eye on the big fellow, with my back to the 
 slaughtered calf. His look-out was better than that 
 of any human eye. They took their water, and 
 disappeared up the mountain to their abode. The 
 spotted deer came and drank at fifty yards from me. 
 
94 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 It was a Sunday ; and I never shoot anything but 
 tigers on that day. Besides, no noise must he made. 
 Having left two men on a high, leafy tree within 
 sight of the calf, I returned to the tents. These men 
 were relieved at one o'clock. At four p.m., I again 
 went, and sat till nightfall — but no tigress. That 
 night the monkeys were wonderfully quiet. We all 
 considered that the man-eater was dead or disabled. 
 Her footmark was not to be found at the water. She 
 had not bathed or drunk. 
 
 Whilst sitting and watching this evening, I had 
 the satisfaction of seeing the villagers return to their 
 homes : they came along shouting and singing. The 
 village was again their happy home. The rajah 
 wrote me a complimentary letter, full of thanks. 
 The mokassee (or owner) and the village shikarees 
 were now restored to their usual confidence. They 
 promised to recover the tigress ; they knew every 
 cave in the mountain : they would be sure to recover 
 her ; and if the skin was not spoilt, they would send 
 it to me. I knew that they would not dare to go up 
 into the mountain for some days. But my servants 
 and baggage-cattle being rested from their fatigue, I 
 could not longer delay, so next morning went to 
 take a last look at the calf. We found he had been 
 torn to pieces by the hyenas. One hind leg and 
 quarter lay close to the water ;. a good part of the 
 rest, some fifty yards off. The track of each part 
 was distinct. The scuffle had been for the meat, but 
 
THE MAN-EATEK. 95 
 
 it was decomposed; in which state the hyenas and 
 jackals, the scavengers of India, pull the body to 
 pieces. It is extraordinary how aloof these animals 
 keep, until either the tiger has eaten, or the body 
 stinks and becomes decomposed. If a tiger does 
 not feel hungry after he has killed and drunk the 
 blood, he will sometimes sit on the watch. Woe 
 betide any moving thing that then comes to his 
 carcase ! Vultures, even, have been found slain 
 over it. 
 
 I proceeded on my march, after some talk with 
 the village owner. To my remark that it was no 
 wonder his people were killed by tigers, with the 
 village between these mountains and a mesh of 
 ravines connecting them with the only fine drinking 
 water in the forest, he replied, that for twelve years, 
 until the last three or four months, they had not had 
 a man, killed; that as for the common tigers, they 
 ■were used to them ; that their cattle were killed by 
 them, and that they saw them daily, but that these 
 tigers did not molest men. 
 
 A fortnight or so after this, and when I had 
 returned to Nagpore, a moolkee, or district sowar 
 or trooper, brought me word from the rajah that his 
 shikarees had found the tigress dead, but that her 
 skin was decomposed and unfit to send to me. This 
 was unsatisfactory, but could not be helped. It was 
 much that I had been the avenger constituted by 
 Him, who ordains all things, to slay these tigers, and 
 
96 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 to save further loss of human life. To any one who 
 knows how much attached a native of India is to his 
 home, it will be fully understood with what delight 
 these poor villagers returned to their hearths and 
 altars. 
 
 The foregoing tale of mischief consummated by 
 man-eating tigers, sinks, however, into insignificance, 
 if the relative number of lives is taken into con- 
 sideration with that of the story of the famous 
 three-fanged tigress of Bogarum. The tigers of 
 Doongurghur carried on their devastation for four 
 or five months only ; the tigress, the tale of which I 
 am about to relate, infested a low bush jungle inter- 
 spersed with immense caves and rocks, the entire 
 area of which was not probably more than twelve or 
 fourteen square miles, lying contiguous to three vil- 
 lages. In and about these villages, this tigress killed 
 the number of 144 men and womeu in the space 
 of three years, each one of which was known by the 
 mark of her three fangs. Many of my readers, who 
 were at or near Hydrabad in the Deccan, in the 
 years 1847-48-49, will have heard of her depreda- 
 tions, if they have not actually hunted and fired at 
 her. She, however, led a charmed life, no one can 
 boast of possessing her skin ; some of the best shots 
 of Hydrabad, Secunderabad, and Bolarum were out 
 after her day after day, for the village of Bogarum 
 is within ten or eleven miles of the last of these 
 stations. I among others was out several times/and 
 
THE MAN-EATER. 97 
 
 saw her several times, though I had only one snap 
 shot at her, and that at a hundred yards. She had 
 with her a young one of about two years old, and I 
 was with a party on elephants, who after a great deal 
 of driving about, succeeded in separating the young 
 one from the tigress and killing it. The mother, as 
 on all other occasions, baffled all our pursuit. At one 
 time a friend of mine and I went out with two ele- 
 phants to Bogarum to beat for this tigress. Report 
 was brought that there was a tiger not very far from 
 the foot of the Bogarum hill. The rocks are of a 
 very peculiar formation, being very commonly like 
 tombstones, rising to the height of thirty feet, and 
 isolated from one another ; they have a very strange 
 appearance, with the bush jungle entwined round 
 their base. On a sudden to the right of our line a 
 great shout was raised, and we saw the famous 
 Bogarum tigress sitting upon the pinnacle of a rock 
 at least five and thirty feet from the ground; it 
 seemed almost a miracle how she got up there. She 
 sat composedly looking upon all the people about, 
 and certainly appeared to me the most beautiful and 
 symmetrically made tiger I had ever seen, her coat 
 was sleek and shining, as if she had been cleaned in 
 a drawing-room. You may have been told, and it is 
 a very common error to suppose, that a man-eating 
 tiger is always mangy, and out of condition; here 
 was one that had killed more than I had ever heard 
 of, with as beautiful and glossy a skin as has ever 
 
9.8. WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 been seen. My friend immediately moved his elephant- 
 tbwards her, -which (whether from, seeing the. tigress, 
 though she was a couple of hundred yards from me, 
 or whether from, the shouting, I know not) rushed 
 frantically off. in the opposite direction, which was> 
 towards the city of Hydrabad, and it was only after 
 we had gone half a mile, that the Mahout (elephant 
 driver) could stop him. I and. Mailgkalee jumped 
 off with the rifles; the elephant then continued his. 
 course, leaving pieces of the Mahout's dress on the 
 bushes, and never stopped till he reached the city of 
 Hydrabad.. In the meanwhile, my friend had had a 
 shot at the tigress on the rock, but missed her ; it 
 was just after this, and when we had descended from 
 the elephant, that Mangkalee pointed out to me a 
 tiger moving on the side of the hill at about 500 
 yards from us ; it was too far to make out if it was 
 the man-eater or not, but we hastened to the spot, 
 and there found the pug of the cub, it was among 
 some bushes surrounded by rocks, which, though they 
 did not form caves,, were grouped together so as to 
 form a shelter very nearly inaccessible. We could 
 not carry the track away out of this place, nor could 
 we find the young tiger. While this was going on, 
 my friend, came up on his elephant and told me how 
 he had missed the tigress, and where his ball had 
 struck on the rock, adding that, as he did not think it 
 worth while to look any more for her, he should go 
 home. After again waiting some time in the en- 
 
THE MAN-EATER. ■ 99 
 
 deavour to track, I went across to see and examine 
 the rock on the top of which the tigress had: sat. It 
 was wonderful to conceive how, an : animal of this size, 
 could have, glided: up and down this almost perpen- 
 dicular rock. 
 
 The heaters all this time were perched on the 
 rocks which they had ascended when the tigress first 
 showed herself. 
 
 A heavy shower of rain now fell. Whilst I was at 
 the hase of the rock a loud shout, proclaimed to us 
 that the tigress had again started,, and the. waving of 
 blankets denoted the way she had taken. We fol- 
 lowed on foot, and on coming to the. spot where we 
 had seen the young tiger we found the foot-marks of 
 the tigress showing quite clear on.the newly-moistened 
 soil. The heaters who had been on the rocks above 
 assured us that she had rushed out from under that 
 mass of rocks. and bush, so that we must have been 
 for about a quarter of an hour within a few pacesof 
 this famous tigress; and the only way that I can 
 account for her not having seized any. of us is that 
 she had been alarmed by being fired, at, and thought 
 she was not concealed.from.thdeyes.of the. people on 
 the rocks above her,. 
 
 She. had gone full stride down, the: hill, and again; 
 we lost her tracks in the impervious, bush below. 
 
 This happened, on a Tuesday, and for the next 
 three days we in vain heat for the tigress.. I had got 
 out another elephant, and on Saturday, just as our. 
 
 7—2 
 
100 WILD SPOETS OF INDIA. 
 
 elephants were being got ready to go back to canton- 
 ments, some villagers came in suddenly into the camp, 
 and said that one of their party had just been carried 
 off by the tigress. Eleven of them had been coming 
 from another village towards Bogarum, when at a 
 mile ofF the tigress had sprung upon a woman and 
 carried her away. There was a boy about ten or 
 eleven years old, the son of the unfortunate woman, 
 who was loud in his lamentations ; but I am sorry to 
 say that, like as the Jew, in the Merchant of Venice, 
 when his daughter Jessica ran away, cried more for 
 his ducats than for his daughter, so did this little boy 
 wail more for the silver bangles and anklets that he 
 averred were on his mother's person than for his 
 mother. There was no stopping him in his descrip- 
 tion of these ornaments. "We had the elephants im- 
 mediately got ready, and started for the spot ; and 
 we agreed that I was to follow the track where the 
 woman had been dragged, while my friend was to 
 beat some thirty yards on the left. There was to be 
 no jealousy about the shots, but between us we must 
 kill her if possible. We had scarcely gone a hundred 
 yards, when my friend saw the tigress sitting in the 
 bush before him ; he fired at but did not kill her ; 
 she went away like a deer, at which time I also got a 
 snap shot at about a hundred yards. We separated, 
 though not intentionally, and when we were a Ion a- 
 way apart my friend again came upon her standing 
 on a rock. This time his elephant made a rush at 
 
THE MAN-EATER. 101 
 
 the tigress, and he broke the stock of his gun ; and 
 so, after vainly beating for her for several hours, we 
 lost her, and I never saw her again. We then went 
 to recover the body of the unfortunate woman, and 
 there found the fatal three holes in her neck ; her foot 
 and leg only up to the knee were eaten up, and the 
 tigress had most carefully spread the saree (cloth 
 worn by native women) over her victim so as to con- 
 ceal her entirely. It appears strange that a tiger 
 prefers eating the foot and leg of the human, while 
 in the animal — bullock, cow, or buffalo — he inva- 
 riably commences with the hind-quarter. These poor 
 Bogarum villagers certainly did lead a life ! 
 
 One evening, as we arrived there, a man came 
 rushing into camp, his face the picture of horror and 
 his hair on end; he had just been chased by the 
 tigress; and the villagers said, here we are one 
 hundred men in this village, we cannot go into the 
 jungles to cut our wood for fear of our lives. We 
 will beat the jungle for you with pleasure ; what is it, 
 if one of us is killed, you will be able to kill the 
 tigress. The three villages subscribed the sum of 
 150 rupees (15Z.) (a large sum for poor people), to 
 induce a famous shikaree to come and shoot the 
 tigress ; he was an old and practised hand, and made 
 the agreement with them, that he would come and 
 shoot the tigress after he had taken his bride, whom 
 he was just about to marry, to his home. The man 
 went and was married, and was taking his wife on a 
 
102 "WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 .pony, with a large marriage procession, with him 
 through these very jungles ; the tigress sprang out 
 And carried off the bride from her pony, from out of 
 the middle of the procession. Fortunately the shout 
 raised by the Jiumber of people, and the rush made 
 for her rescue, induced the tigress to drop her victim ; 
 and they put the bride on her pony and took her 
 home, and she recovered ; but the old shikaree was 
 too superstitious to have anything more to do with 
 that tigress, remarking that ;he had vowed to kill her, 
 but that the tigress had seized his young bride. 
 After we had killed the cub, this famous tigress left 
 those jungles, and whether she died of wounds, or 
 whether she left off -man-eating, and took to living 
 respectably, deponent saith not 
 
 The natives, who are very superstitious, consider 
 that the man-eating tiger that has taken up bis abode 
 near the village, is an evil spirit sent to destroy 
 them ; and they give -themselves up most helplessly to 
 this scourge, firmly believing that it is the will of their 
 Deity, and that they are therefore quite impotent to 
 destroy the animal ; but let us look into the real 
 causes of tigers becoming man-eaters, and we shall 
 not wonder that they are here and there only to be 
 found, but that they -are not much more numerous. 
 
 There is a class of Hindoos throughout all the 
 villages in the Deccan,Uagpore, and other parts of 
 India, whose duty it is, in a country where roads are 
 scarcely marked, and paths during the monsoon or 
 
THE MAN-EATER. 103 
 
 .rainy season are obliterated, to show the traveller 
 from village to village on the journey he is going. 
 They also carry baggage, &c., for 'which they receive 
 some -trifling remuneration. The other duties per- 
 formed by this class are that of village watchmen, 
 sweepers, and clearers away of all animals that 
 may die within the village and its boundaries. 
 Their caste is of course a very low one, and in most 
 villages and towns where there are any number of 
 respectable Hindoos, or Mahomedans, this class, 
 which is called the Dare class, is not permitted to 
 reside among the other inhabitants, but ground is 
 allotted to them outside the village ; and this locality 
 obtains the name of the Darewarra. 
 
 Now, in recompence for their services as watch- 
 men, guides, and porters, as well as scavengers, they 
 are allowed certain grounds rent-free from Govern- 
 ment; and this is, regulated by their number, and the 
 extent of the grounds, population, and wealth of the 
 •village. They have the exclusive right over all 
 animals, that die within the. limits of their village, 
 from whatever cause ;. these are their perquisites ; and 
 they . eat indiscriminately all animals, - whether they 
 die from disease, old age, accident* or from the stroke 
 of the wild animal of the jungle. The village cattle, 
 whether buffalo, bullocks, cows, sheep or goats, are 
 taken out to graze upon lands common to the village, 
 under one or. two herdsmen or shepherds, according 
 to the number, of animals, and each owner pays to 
 
104 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 the gowlee (herdsman) the regulated village price 
 for looking after his animal ; at night they are all 
 brought back to the village. Now very commonly 
 this grazing-ground is in a dense jungle infested by 
 tigers, and, as a matter of course, cattle are constantly 
 killed by them. The gowlee (herdsman) is in no 
 way responsible for this, he has nothing further to do 
 than to report the case in the village, and directly 
 this kill is heard of, out rush the dares, whose 
 property it has become, to drive away the tiger, and 
 secure the body ; all claim to the slain animal is lost, 
 by their absurd rules, to the unfortunate owner of 
 the animal ; it has been his kismut (fate, destiny) to 
 have his animal taken out of a hundred others. 
 
 The hungry Dares will go out on pitch dark nights 
 a mile into the jungle to recover the body of a 
 bullock killed by the tiger, securing themselves by 
 torches and shouting from the animal; and this, 
 indeed, is the best flesh they have, killed and bled 
 by their butcher the tiger, oftentimes unmauled, he 
 not having had time to commence to eat it. Now 
 the unfortunate tiger, day after day baulked of his 
 food, after he has killed his animal, becomes un- 
 common hungry, and at length either watches the 
 ghat (watering place) where the women go down to 
 wash and bathe, from which he seizes his victim, or 
 else he dogs the footsteps of the unwary woodcutter, 
 and once having found out how utterly helpless a man 
 is in his grasp, he becomes a confirmed man-eater. 
 
THE MAN-EATEK. 105 
 
 The tiger can take a man in his mouth, and 
 cany him a considerable distance, and constantly the 
 remains of the body are not recovered ; there are no 
 hungry Dares to take any interest in them. Injuries 
 received by the tiger in conflicts with its own species, 
 wounds from horns, loss of the large fangs of the 
 teeth, old age taking away the vigour of the animal, 
 wounds from bullets, all these are causes in a minor 
 degree of tigers becoming man-eaters ; but it is my 
 firm belief that the system of allowing the Dares to 
 carry away the carcase of the animal killed by the 
 tiger is the primary cause. It is an acknowledged 
 right and perquisite, agreeably to the village regu- 
 lations up to this time. 
 
 Many a bitter disappointment is the sportsman 
 subjected to, who, having heard of the kill of an 
 animal, perhaps several miles off from where he is, 
 and hurrying his shikarees (native hunters), rifles, 
 and himself to the spot, with the hopes of getting a 
 shot at the tiger from behind a screen when he comes 
 to take his meal, finds on his arrival at the village, 
 that the Dares have carried off bodily the gara (killed 
 animal) ; had they left this, the sportsman would have 
 rid the jungle of that tiger. 
 
106 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 TIGER-SHOOTING. 
 
 Native Hunters, or Shikarees — Various plans adopted for shooting 
 Tigers — Adventures— Different degrees of tenacity of Life shown 
 by Tigers : Instances of this. 
 
 The native hunter who sits in a tree, or mechaun, 
 and so shoots a tiger or other animal, is not to be 
 trusted either to stand by you on foot, to give you 
 your spare gun, or to retain his presence of mind 
 when a tiger is within sight or hearing. Now and 
 then they are courageous; but the situation generally 
 is so new .to them that they involuntarily betray 
 alarm. I have proved this to be the case on several 
 occasions besides the one when the shikaree's moving 
 suddenly brought the Simeriah panther on me. 
 Once, when a bear appeared coming towards us, a 
 village shikaree, who was considered a very plucky 
 fellow, began climbing a tree, not much thicker than 
 his own leg, with my .heavy rifle in ,his .hand. 
 Luckily, I caught him by the leg, and pulled him 
 down before he got out of reach. Their alarm is 
 generally shown by a short cough, which proceeds 
 from dryness of the throat, and is caused by fear. 
 This is sometimes incessant, and it is of no use 
 
TIGEE-SHOOTJUSTG. 107 
 
 attempting to cure it. -At .other times, from the man 
 trying to • check '.the cough, and pertinaciously closing 
 his mouth, the cough breaks out loudly, and perhaps 
 loses you the only chance of a :shot that you have 
 been waiting for for hours. 
 
 At Ghanda, in the Nagpore province, I was en- 
 camped in the end of March, 1852. This place .is 
 notorious for the number of tigers in its vicinity;, 
 The jungle being very extensive, low, and very 
 thorny, the European hunter has great difficulty in 
 killing game in it. The native, who sits up in a tree 
 at night, often shoots tigers there, owing to his extra- 
 ordinary power of vision in the dark. The day after 
 I arrived, they ^brought in a very fine tigress, which, 
 they said, came down to drink before dark, and 
 while they were sitting in a tree watching for deer. 
 This rather put me on my mettle, and I soon found 
 the pugs or foot-tracks of a large tiger which used to 
 come round -the camp at night. The village shika- 
 rees confirmed this, by stating that he was the pair 
 to the tigress, and had been there some months, 
 killing a great many cattle, and jumping down on, 
 and killing sometimes both the bullocks in a cart 
 They promised to let me know-if they- heard of his 
 whereabouts. 
 
 On the fourth day after my arrival, a shikaree 
 came running into camp, at about eleven o'clock in 
 the day, 'saying that 'the tiger had killed one cow 
 and wounded another animal out of the herd of 
 
108 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 grazing cattle, at a short distance from the camp, 
 and begging me to come quickly, as his Seikh shika- 
 rees, who had been sent for by the herdsman, had 
 already gone to make a mechaun. I started imme- 
 diately for the spot, and found a full-grown cow 
 dead as a herring, and the two Seikh shikarees up 
 in a mechaun in a very thick mango-tree close to 
 her. I beckoned them down, and told them that 
 they would not get a shot at the tiger from a tree 
 so close to the kill, but must come and assist me in 
 cutting some bushes and making a curtain, from 
 behind which to shoot, on the ground, some thirty- 
 five yards off. They came down, and I promised 
 them the Government reward, which is in this dis- 
 trict only fifteen rupees (thirty shillings), if I suc- 
 ceeded in killing the tiger. We finished the hiding- 
 place by one o'clock ; and it was most probable that 
 the tiger would come down before sunset, as he had 
 not only not eaten any of the cow, but the herdsmen 
 had kicked up such a row, that he had not even bled 
 her. This is always done preparatory to eating, by 
 opening the jugular veins with his large fangs ; and 
 it is very commonly the case, that a tiger will satiate 
 his thirst for blood, and not eat for several hours 
 after. 
 
 I took the precaution to ask the shikarees if they 
 were afraid to sit on the ground ; for if so, they were 
 at liberty to go home. I saw at once that one of the 
 Seikhs was a courageous man, and the shikaree who 
 
TTGEB-SHOOTING. 109 
 
 had given me the news, affirmed that he was not the 
 least afraid. Before, however, we had sat an hour, 
 this last man hegan to show symptoms of a cough, and 
 I made the great mistake of not starting him off at 
 once : I did not like to send him through the jungle 
 alone. Ahout half an hour before sunset, a single 
 jackal came, and took a pull at the dead cow, looking 
 hack continually, as if to see whether the tiger was 
 coming. This was what the natives call the Kola 
 Baloo, or, as they affirm, the tiger's provider. 
 Whether their theory is true or not, I have often 
 seen tigers without the accompanying jackal, and 
 have sometimes seen the latter close to an animal 
 killed by a tiger. This scavenger is always to be seen 
 wherever there has been either a kill, or an animal 
 has died of itself, and I fancy his relish for flesh, 
 killed fresh, or putrid, is equally keen and unscru- 
 pulous. A short time after this, and when there was 
 half an hour at least of daylight, we heard the tiger 
 making the peculiar noise, something like the purring 
 of a large cat, but not such a continuous sound, and 
 more like a moan. He appeared to be not more than 
 a quarter of a mile from us, and approaching very 
 slowly. The above-mentioned shikaree almost imme- 
 diately coughed ; however, the tiger was as yet too 
 far off to hear him. 
 
 In about a quarter of an hour, the purr became 
 quite distinct, and the tiger, though we could not see 
 him, was evidently within twenty or thirty yards of 
 
110 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 the kill. I stood with my rifle all ready over the 
 upper rail of the fence, when, to my terrible disgust, 
 out coughed the •wretched shikaree again. The 
 tiger, who, at this time of coming to his food, is very 
 cautious, suddenly stopped, and the next time we 
 heard him, lie was going in the other direction full 
 300 yards off". I saw my chance was gone, but sat 
 up till nearly eight o'clock, putting a piece of white 
 cotton on the muzzle-sight, as it became- pitch-dark. 
 When this sight was not visible, we went home : I 
 being almost of the opinion that the native shikarees 
 had combined together to prevent my killing the 
 tiger. The next morning was the first day of April — 
 muster-morning — and I told my shikaree, Mangkalee, 
 to go and look from a distance whether the cow had 
 been eaten, or dragged away. He reported the 
 latter; and my determination was directly taken to 
 track up the carcase, and find the tiger at the very 
 hottest time of the day, viz., noon. 
 
 The precaution was taken to put men at the 
 entrance to that part of the jungle, to prevent the 
 village people from entering it there, on their daily 
 task of gathering sticks, wood, and grass. Before 
 noon, I started, taking my pad-elephant with me, to 
 beat for the tiger, in' case all other plans failed. 
 It was as hot a day as one could wish for, for 
 the particular sport of finding a gorged tiger asleep, 
 and shooting him in that position. I have said 
 before that the jungle about this place was very 
 
TIGER-SHOOTING. Ill 
 
 thorny and thick, and in parts almost impervious. I 
 consulted the shikarees, who knew the jungle^ as to 
 how we should go to work to find him. The head 
 man said: "There are three places in this jungle that 
 he will lie in; if he is not in one of them, we are 
 sure of finding him in the other." Turning to the 
 Seikh, I said, " What is your advice ? " He replied 
 "The old man's plan is good." I saw that they were 
 trying to deceive me, and suddenly said, " It is bad 
 and useless." And walking up to the water, I found 
 that the tiger had drunk, and rolled in the damp 
 sand. I then took up the broad track of the dragged 
 cow, up the water-course. There were the trail 
 and the marks of the horns and hoofs plain enough 
 on either bank. When dragged out of this water- 
 course, the trail was more difficult, and I put the 
 Seikh shikaree on it, keeping close by him. We had 
 not gone a quarter of a mile, when we came upon 
 the remains of the cow. More than half had been 
 eaten. There were now good hopes . I had almost 
 forgotten to write that I had sent the pad-elephant 
 to keep in the bed of the river, because tigers 
 constantly lie under- the heavy bushes on the banks 
 for the sake of the cool ground, and the river's 
 course ran nearly parallel to our own. 
 
 The falling leaves now made the tracking very 
 difficult, and we lost it. The Seikh was leading, and 
 I close to him — the heat and glare almost enough to 
 blind one. We had not gone much above a couple 
 
112 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 of hundred yards, when up sprang the tiger about 
 ten yards to our right rear, and almost behind us. 
 He had been lying under a large forest-tree, in so 
 clear a space that I wondered that no one saw him. 
 Fortunately, not a single one of the shikarees moved 
 to run. He at first appeared to intend to charge, 
 for he roared, and came towards us, but at about 
 six or seven paces, he swerved, and I shot him with 
 the right barrel of the Wilkinson rifle in the ribs, a 
 little too far back ; for as I was following his move- 
 ment, my left elbow struck the Seikh shikaree on the 
 shoulder, which prevented the rifle being pitched 
 so far forward as it should have been. The ball, 
 however, went through his liver and body, and out 
 at the other side. I pulled the left trigger, when 
 snap went the cock on the nipple ; the cap had been 
 rubbed off in this terribly thick jungle. Had he 
 turned upon us then some one must have been seized. 
 The pad-elephant was in the sandy bed of the river, 
 one hundred yards to our right, and when the tiger 
 roared, she trumpeted. I called to the mahout to 
 bring her, remarking, " The tiger is shot, but not 
 in the heart : he is a dangerous brute now ; " and, 
 getting on the elephant's back, we went to look for 
 him. 
 
 We soon made out that he had not crossed the 
 river, or a nullah in front of us, and so must be iu 
 the angle of the jungle, pretty close to where we 
 were hunting about. All the shikarees were well 
 
TIGEE- SHOOTING. 113 
 
 behind the elephant, when the young Seikh shikaree 
 said to the elder (Mamoo), " Uncle, there's the tiger 1" 
 pulling him back, and pointing to our left. My 
 mahout (elephant driver), also pointing, said, " There 
 he is, sir (sahib) ! " My shikaree, Mangkallee, repeated, 
 " There he is, sahib ! " I looked and looked, but could 
 not see him. The latter whispered, " In that shade — 
 fire into it" I replied, "Very well; but I can't see 
 the tiger." I fired, expecting to bring the tiger out 
 of the bushes at me, but no sound. I made the 
 mahout bring the elephant to kneel at once, and 
 directly I jumped to the ground, saw the tiger plain 
 enough, lying at full length, his back towards me. I 
 walked up, when the Seikh, laying hold of my arm 
 from behind, said, " Put a ball into his head : he's 
 not dead." I replied, " What's the use of spoiling 
 his skin ? " and keeping my rifle at full cock, I did 
 not fire again. The tiger was stone dead, and not 
 much more than a hundred yards from where I fired 
 the first shot. The second time, I had fired into a 
 shady bush. The Seikh said that a man with him 
 was one day killed by a wounded tiger, which he 
 approached, thinking him dead, and that that was 
 the reason of his caution. He was a very large 
 tiger, in high condition, quite in the prime of life, 
 about eleven feet long, and very lusty, with the most 
 perfect teeth I had ever seen. We had the elephant 
 brought up, made her lie on her side, and, after 
 much trouble, fastened the tiger to her, when she 
 
 8 
 
114 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 carried it home most gallantly. Elephants do not 
 like this work generally. Often, a good shikaree- 
 elephant is afraid of a tiger tied on its back. 
 
 I should have mentioned before this, that one thing 
 which makes tiger-shooting and panther-shooting on 
 foot dangerous, is the running away, or moving, 
 indeed, in retreat, of any one of the party. Both these 
 animals roar to intimidate their prey or their enemies. 
 This, in thick jungle, where the animal itself is not 
 visible, betrays his approach, and is the preservation 
 of the man who does not lose his presence of mind. 
 But to him who turns to run it is almost certain deatb. 
 The tiger roars for the purpose of taking his victim 
 at advantage; and of two men, when the tiger 
 thus charges, he who faces his foe with a shout of 
 defiance, will always have a better chance of his life 
 than he who turns to run. If both stand with de- 
 termined front, it is very probable that the tiger will 
 pass them. He is not half so courageous an animal 
 as a panther or a wild hog ; but his power of claw 
 and fang is most irresistible and overwhelming. 
 
 As promised, I divided the Government reward 
 among the shikarees, though of course each was not 
 contented with his share. The Seikh got the largest 
 as being the most deserving. A very short time 
 after this I left Chanda for Nagpore. 
 
 While I think of it, let me mention that timers 
 sometimes get up into large trees, and that two were 
 thus killed in the Raipore district of the Nagpore 
 
TIGER-SHOOTING. 115 
 
 province. The jungle about was low and thin-; and 
 I think that the tigers, having come down too near 
 the village at night, to see if they could pick up a 
 stray bullock, had been surprised by the dawn, and 
 by the movements of the villagers at daylight. Find- 
 ing the jungle thin, they began to climb the tree. 
 After they had got some height, the people saw them, 
 and, being cowardly tigers, they remained up there 
 until some officers, then at Raipore, went out and shot 
 them. The panther not uncommonly gets up]into trees. 
 
 I stated that the usual way of shooting tigers is 
 off the backs of elephants. A line is made with 
 these, and the jungle beaten according to its size; or, 
 if ~very extensive, only those parts of at which are 
 most likely to hold the game. The best way to 
 ensure finding a tiger is to tie up a calf, . or young 
 buffalo, near his haunts, and when he has killed and 
 eaten, to beat the jungle around it. If the tiger is 
 gorged, he will lie until the elephant almost .treads 
 upon him. 
 
 Your native hunter should understand :how to 
 manage the tying .up the animal used for the bait. 
 But lest he should not, you yourself must see . it 
 done in the following manner. Round ..the roots of 
 the horns, if a horned animal, or to a headstall, if 
 he has not horns, attach a strong rope, some twelve 
 feet long. Tie this most securely, before leaving 
 your camp, and have your calf driven to the spot in 
 the jungle in which you wish to picket him. This 
 
 8—2 
 
116 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 will of course be near the marks or pugs of the tiger, 
 and near where he comes to drink. It should also 
 he within view of some large trees easily climbed, 
 and accessible from your camp without your having 
 to proceed through much thorny and thick jungle ; 
 as you may have to visit the spot either before day- 
 light or after dusk. Your calf, too, must be watered 
 and fed, supposing he is not killed in the first few 
 hours of being tied up. 
 
 You will on no account whatever move in a jungle 
 infested with tigers without your rifle in your 
 hand, and both barrels at full-cock. Should you not 
 yourself proceed to see the work done, your native 
 hunters should always go armed, and equipped in the 
 same manner as if they were going out shooting with 
 you. They must be warned not to use their weapons, 
 save in self-defence. They must never be tempted 
 to shoot at deer or other game, while proceeding for 
 the purpose of tying baits for tigers, or of examining 
 the ground for their footprints. The inducement, to 
 a native hunter who can shoot, is very great ; but 
 there is no point on which you must be more par- 
 ticular than that of enforcing quiet at the time he is 
 moving in a jungle in which you expect to get game. 
 
 The plans adopted in India for shooting large 
 game are as follows: — Beating for them with ele- 
 phants; beating and driving the game in jungle, with 
 large bodies of beaters, either with tom-toms, rattles, 
 gongs, and such like noisy instruments, or silently. 
 
TIGER-SHOOTIXG. 117 
 
 The shooters in this case are placed on trees at mode- 
 rate distances, so as to command the usual runs or 
 paths taken by the animal, or else on elevated ground. 
 Taking a station at the head of a ravine, up which 
 the track shows game to have come, is a very favourite 
 position. But you must be particularly silent on these 
 occasions, partly concealed, and, if possible, to lee- 
 ward of the beaters. In all these positions you 
 will most probably be higher than the game at which 
 you are firing. You must, therefore, fire low, 
 especially with a rifle. 
 
 Another plan commonly adopted by natives, but 
 which I do not recommend to the English sportsman, 
 is to sit up in a tree and shoot the animal when it 
 comes either to kill, or eat the calf when killed, or 
 to drink. Natives constantly sit up all night. If 
 you are determined to shoot game in this manner, 
 let me advise you to leave your camp before day- 
 light, and sit up till eight o'clock, and no longer. Go 
 again in the afternoon, an hour and a half before 
 sunset, and sit up till it is too dark for you to see 
 any longer, which will be in India, where there is a 
 very short twilight, not more than an hour after 
 sunset. 
 
 Again let me warn you to use the greatest caution 
 in moving through a jungle infested by wild animals, 
 before and after dark. You must, on no account, 
 allow a word to be spoken at the foot of the tree, or 
 near the spot chosen by you for watching. While 
 
118 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 you climb the tree, your shikarees must be on the 
 look-out. Directly you have taken your rifle in 
 Hand, your eye must scan minutely the jungle all 
 round you. A sign from your hand should be suffi- 
 cient to make your shikarees hand up your spare 
 rifles, drinking-water, &c, and follow you up the tree 
 without noise. 
 
 All must at once settle themselves in positions so 
 far comfortable, that it will not be necessary for them 
 to move during the entire time you have to sit up. 
 In firing at all game, especially the savage animals, 
 the sportsman must be most careful in his first shot. 
 C'est le premier pas qui coute. If the game is not 
 killed, or so severely wounded as to be disabled, you 
 will but rarely bag or recover it ; while following a 
 wounded animal, like a tiger or panther, on foot, is 
 the most dangerous, part of shikar. Never, therefore, 
 fire random-shot at this kind of game. They are 
 very rarely killed by a single shot, and have been 
 known to go several paces after they have been shot 
 through the heart 
 
 I think that one of the most deadly parts of the 
 body to aim at, in most animals, is half-way between 
 the top of the withers and the bottom of the girth. If 
 you miss the heart, your ball hits the lungs or liver. 
 If it strikes too high for them, it will generally dis- 
 locate or break the vertebras at the junction between 
 the spine and neck. This is the spot in which the 
 Spanish matador sheathes the point of his rapier, when 
 
TIGEE-SHOOTING. 119 
 
 he gives the bull his death-wound. Gf course, after 
 much practice you will become so. good a rifle-shot, 
 that you may be able, to brain, an animal, when you 
 are near to him. But the brain of a- tiger or 
 panther is very far back in the head, and in a very 
 small compass ; and you should study the anatomy 
 of the heads, of animals before you. attempt to fire for 
 the brain. 
 
 i With reference to acquiring the knowledge of 
 tracking wild. animals, it requires many years' expe- 
 rience and practice in the jungle, besides the natural 
 gift of a. very keen sight. Never despise the informa- 
 tion to be procured from the old shikaree of the village 
 near which you are shooting. These people may be 
 said to live in the jungle,. and they have instincts and 
 faculties sharpened by that most, keen whetstone, the 
 necessity of gaining their daily bread out of the forest. 
 Tracking, therefore,, will be constantly alluded to in 
 these pages,, under the respective kinds, of shikar for 
 which it is practised. 
 
 Another plan adopted by native shikarees, in dis- 
 tricts where there are lakes of water in. the jungle, is 
 to dig holes, .usually some six feet square, and about 
 three deep, within a few feet of theedge of the water. 
 The mould taken out of the. hole is heaped all rouna 
 its outer edge, like a. bank. The shikaree rests the 
 barrel of his matchlock, on this bank, and when the 
 wild animal is drinking, he shoots him, sometimes at 
 but a few feet from the. muzzle of his matchlock. As 
 
120 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 the water recedes, the hunter digs a fresh hole, so as 
 to be pretty close to the water's edge. In this way a 
 great many wild hog, neelghai (the blue cattle), 
 sambur or red deer, and others, are killed during the 
 hot months of March, April, and May. 
 
 Two hunters usually sit in the same hole, but they 
 rarely dare to fire at tigers or bears. I do not recom- 
 mend this kind of shooting to the English sportsman. 
 In the first place, it is very unhealthy. The sitting 
 in a damp hole, from which the water has receded 
 but a few days, close to a swampy lake, in the tropics, 
 and surrounded by a vast jungle, gives the worst 
 sort of ague and fever. Besides this, you are being 
 punished the whole time by the mosquitoes, the bites 
 of which even the native, with all his patience, can- 
 not sit quietly under. 
 
 One circumstance is considered by the young 
 sportsman as most extraordinary. I mean the diffi- 
 culty of finding the large game, the fresh tracks of 
 which are visible all about his camp. He will, on 
 going out the first thing in the morning, see the fresh 
 pug, or mark, of the tiger, or panther, in the sandy 
 nullah or ravine close to his tent. The nest of the 
 white ant will be broken up, or, if the ground is 
 very hard, and it is the dry season, scratched into by 
 bears ; while marks of all sorts of deer denote that 
 there is abundance of game about him. Yet he shall 
 search through the forest and its thickest haunts, 
 without raising anything more than a few deer. The 
 
TIGER-SHOOTING. 121 
 
 reason of this is that, during the heat of the day, the 
 game of all kinds betake themselves into the most 
 inaccessible and coolest spots. The tiger, most pro- 
 bably gorged with food, if in the vicinity of mountains 
 or hills, climbs to his stronghold, by a most precipi- 
 tous path, and takes his rest under the overhanging 
 slab of a rock, shaded by some thick leafy bush. 
 Lying sometimes in one favourite spot, sometimes in 
 another — sometimes in the deep wooded ravine near 
 the cool water, at other times on the top of the moun- 
 tain — he baffles the search of the hunter, year after 
 year. 
 
 Another plan followed iu hunting tigers, and one 
 which is successful if you have first-rate trackers and 
 shikarees, accustomed to it, is the following: — Have 
 calves or heifers tied up in the vicinity of the tiger's 
 haunt, and, as before mentioned, within sight of a 
 lofty and easily climbed tree. When the tiger has 
 killed and eaten, and thus become gorged, you take 
 your trackers, and by making a circle, decreasing 
 gradually round and round the animal that has been 
 killed, and very cautiously searching every likely- 
 looking spot, you eventually find the tiger asleep. 
 This plan can only be followed in the hot weather, 
 and at the very hottest time of the day. The tiger 
 then, having well gorged himself, will be found fast 
 asleep, and if you are a good shot, possess eyes in 
 the habit of looking at an animal of this sort while 
 asleep, and nerve which enables you to wait quietly 
 
122 WILD SPOETS OF INDIA. 
 
 till you have made sure that you are firing at a vital 
 part, you may kill your tiger with a single bullet. 
 You can find the track of the animal by commencing 
 the circle round your killed bait ; the diameter of it 
 may be half a mile. This will, of course, depend 
 upon the peculiar kind of jungle which the tiger uses 
 as shelter. 
 
 If the tiger has been seen to gorge himself 
 thoroughly, and walk off to any known favourite 
 spot, it will save you much trouble to take up the 
 mark or track from the carcase of the slain heifer. 
 The large and bloody paw-marks of the tiger will, 
 for some little distance, plainly denote his progress. 
 Be sure to wait until the heat of the day, that you 
 may find him asleep. If it is a part of the forest not 
 frequented by cattle or by man, and you have tied 
 your gar a, or beast, in a judicious place, the tiger 
 will not have travelled far after he has satisfied his 
 appetite. Shikarees, who thoroughly understand the 
 habits of the animal, being men who are accustomed 
 to walk so lightly that they cannot be heard in the 
 jungle, are positively necessary for following this 
 sport successfully and safely. 
 
 I need scarcely add that first-rate shikarees are 
 very difficult indeed to procure^ The most certain 
 way of keeping a man of this sort in your service, 
 when you have got him, is to make him presents 
 when you have good success in shikar. I prefer this 
 plan, and giving them moderate wages, to the system 
 
TIGER-SHOOTING. 123 
 
 adopted by some people of paying them very high" 
 monthly wages, whether they show you shikar or 
 not. Good shots and- good sportsmen make good 
 shikarees, and induce such to remain in their service; 
 for the native hunter does not at all like going out 
 day after day, and seeing his master miss game. 
 They generally have very keen appetites, set sharper 
 by the toil they undergo in their search for game. 
 
 As a general rule, and one which is agreed on by 
 a party of sportsmen beating for tigers, it is usual not 
 to fire at any other animals but tigers. This is done 
 that they may not be disturbed or driven back by 
 hearing the reports of the guns. But I do not think 
 that this is a rule advisable to make, except where 
 tigers are numerous, or when it is of consequence to 
 destroy a man-eater, who is doing much mischief. 
 At the same time, you may possibly be rather taken 
 aback by the appearance of tigers when you have 
 just emptied your rifles at other game. 
 
 It happened to me on one occasion to get the kubbur, 
 or news, of four tigers being all together in a deep 
 ravine within a few miles of the cantonment where I 
 was stationed. A native officer under my command 
 had a female elephant, which he took out with us. 
 We tracked the tigers to a very thick sendbund, or 
 date-grove, and we soon discovered, from the number 
 of bones of bullocks and deer, that this was their 
 stronghold. The jungle was very thick, and my 
 native friends, who had in vain been persuading me 
 
124 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 to mount the elephant, at length got into the howdah 
 themselves and commenced beating. I posted myself 
 up in a tree ; for it was very difficult to see from the 
 ground, an d they were to beat up to me. I knew 
 the tigers were within about a hundred yards ; and 
 they had scarcely put the elephant to beat, when I 
 heard a tremendous roaring. The elephant ran away, 
 turned the howdah right over, against the branch of 
 a tree, upsetting the people who were in it almost on 
 the top of the tigers. One rushed by'me, which I 
 wounded in the hind-quarters, but I did not recover 
 him. On the nest day we again beat for them, with- 
 out the elephant. But, after beating for a long time 
 unsuccessfully, they sent word to me to say that the 
 tigers were not in this part of the jungle. I had 
 placed myself within eight yards of a small water- 
 course, and was on foot ; so I sent word to them to 
 beat out the jungle up to me. I had scarcely done 
 this, being under the impression that there were no 
 tigers in it, when a large male bear came out close by 
 me, up the bed of the water-course. He did not see 
 me ; but as he came abreast, he suddenly scented us, 
 and came round to the point. I shot him between 
 the eyes, and brained him, so that he sank a mass of 
 black hair. 
 
 At the report of my rifle, out rushed a tiger, almost 
 over the fallen bear, which was not above eight yards 
 from me, and I had just time to shoot him with the 
 left barrel behind the shoulder. The other two tigers 
 
TIGER-SHOOTING. 125 
 
 went back through the beaters. We followed up the 
 wounded tiger, but did not that evening recover 
 him. At sunset, I sat up at the only water near 
 that part of the jungle in the hopes that the tigers, 
 whom I had been driving about the whole of this 
 very hot day, would come to drink before it became 
 too dark to see them. They came to within fifty 
 yards of the water, and there they kept on sharpen- 
 ing their claws against a large forest tree. We sat 
 on the ground, within a few paces of the water, until 
 it was too dark to see the sights of the rifles. Had 
 there been but one tiger, I might have chanced 
 the shooting at him in the dark; but the odds of 
 three were against me. They evidently scented us, 
 though we could not see them ; and I reluctantly at 
 length returned to my camp. A few days after this, 
 the head of the gowlees (buffalo-keepers) of my 
 bazaar, who used to graze their animals near this 
 jungle, brought in the body of the tiger I had last 
 wounded. Their large male buffalo found the tiger 
 dead, and charged it; which attracted their atten- 
 tion. 
 
 I have endeavoured in the foregoing pages to 
 impress on my readers the great tenacity to life 
 possessed by the large beasts of prey, and it is this 
 which makes the pursuit of them on foot so dan- 
 gerous. Those who have not actually seen it, will 
 scarcely credit that a tiger will often go in Ins charge 
 several yards, with all the power and capability to 
 
126 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 strike down every one in his path, after the bullet 
 has gone through his heart, or crashed through his 
 brain. Again, there are instances when the bullet 
 is instantaneously fatal in either of those, justly con- 
 sidered, the most fatal spots. Nor have I ever been 
 able to discern "why this is. Whether it 'is that a 
 bullet in one part of the brain or heart is more 
 deadly than another ; -whether, in the brain, it is the 
 cerebrum or the cerebellum which is the fatal spot ; 
 and whether, in the heart, it is the aorta, or not ; or 
 whether, again, it is the natural vis of one animal 
 that gives him a power to go on, after a wound 
 which will 'instantaneously kill another animal of the 
 same species, it seems useless to -speculate. I will, 
 therefore, give two more stories to delineate cases 
 where one tigress has sunk with a bullet through the 
 heart from the same rifle which failed to imme- 
 diately hill the -man-eater, shot in a similar manner : 
 and where another tigress, shot through the brain 
 with the same rifle, went at full speed for forty yards 
 afterwards. 
 
 In March, 1858, I was on field service in the 
 eastern part of the Raipore district of Nagpore and 
 encamped at Aring, a place where formerly the tigers 
 used to walk about the village at night. A gowlee, 
 or herdsman, of a neighbouring village reported a 
 bullock killed close by, and that the tigress had 
 gorged herself, and was in a nullah, or small river, 
 with but a few bushes in it : in short, that the country 
 
TIGER-SHOOTING. 127 
 
 was an easy one to find her in. I had an elephant with 
 a pad, which I took out to beat for us. .As I very 
 rarely use an elephant to shoot from, and a friend 
 was willing to go -out, we started at about ten o'clock, 
 in the heat of the day. We had beaten a mile 01 
 the nullah, when the tigress jumped up on :my side 
 of the water, and about a hundred yards in front of 
 me. But I was on horseback ; so, not having time 
 to get off and shoot, 'I galloped to mark, and prevent 
 her going far up the nullah. It was in a field ot 
 dhall, which grows from three to sometimes six feet 
 high or more; but -this was neither high nor thick. 
 The tigress stopped, and hid :herself in some green 
 bushes close to .the water, and I heard my friend's 
 shikarees calling out, " There she is ! " so I galloped 
 through the water where it was shallow, and ap- 
 proached the spot. Before, however, we could see 
 her lying down, she was off at speed across the field. 
 I now let two dogs loose, and galloped her in full 
 sight for some six hundred yards : but shehada Jong 
 start, and kept it. 
 
 Suddenly I lost. her and the dogs. The latter soon 
 returned to me, and I thought we had lost the chase 
 altogether.; so I followed a small watercourse down 
 into the nullah, putting a man up into a tree near 
 me. When I got to the nullah, where my friend 
 had taken post, we determined, as the people declared 
 that she had never gone out of the dhall field, to beat 
 it again, in line. We were both on horseback ; but 
 
128 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 when we came to about the spot where I had last seen 
 the tigress, I dismounted, and had not walked two hun- 
 dred yards, when I heard the trooper who was riding 
 behind my friend say, " There she is, sir ! " I ran 
 across to my right in the direction the man pointed, 
 calling to my friend to dismount quick. Before, 
 however, he had come up, I saw the tigress crouched 
 in the field, thirty yards ahead of me ; and aiming 
 steadily behind her shoulder, she sank dead, without 
 a groan or a sound. The bullet had passed through 
 her heart, and out at the other side of the body. In 
 sinking, she turned her face to me, and got the 
 second bullet in her neck. The rifle used was the 
 two-grooved Wilkinson. My friend also fired and hit 
 her, but she was a dead tigress the first shot. Length 
 of skin ten feet six inches — a handsome animal. 
 
 This is a simple tale of one killed with a single shot 
 in the heart. A few days after this, when encamped 
 some seven miles east of Aring, kubbur, or report, of 
 a tigress having killed a bullock, was brought in. 
 Out I went alone. Twice I beat the nullah which 
 she had dragged the bullock into with my pad 
 elephant, and was walking alongside, about thirty 
 yards off her, when up the tigress got, with a roar, 
 drove the elephant back, and went out at the other 
 side of the nullah. On a sudden there was an awful 
 shrieking, and I thought some one had been seized, 
 I rushed through the nullah at the risk of my life, 
 when I saw a wretch of a man high up a tree 
 
TIGER-SHOOTING. 129 
 
 shouting. However, he had seen which way the 
 tigress went 
 
 The villagers, in a clump of one hundred men, 
 were at a respectable distance off on the other side 
 of the nullah, on a low hill. My elephant also was 
 some fifty yards off, on the other side. One villager 
 was near me, and I told him to go round, and make 
 the people on the other side shout. I was within 
 twenty yards of the nullah, at the spot where the 
 tigress was last seen, and I had scarcely spoken, 
 when out she charged at the sound, her ears back, 
 and at such a pace that her belly almost touched the 
 ground. I shot her through the chest, but just too 
 low for the heart, with the first barrel. This never 
 turned her, and I fired the second barrel when she 
 was within springing distance, at about five yards. 
 This hit her in the inner corner of the right eye, 
 went through her brain, crushing the bones of the 
 back part of her skull to pieces, and out below her 
 chest. The tigress swerved a little, passed me at 
 about seven feet, went at undiminished speed for 
 certainly forty yards, and then she lay on her belly 
 extended. So marvellous did this seem to me, and 
 so lifelike did she then appear, that, having seized 
 another rifle, I fired and hit her, the ball passing 
 through her thigh and into her neck. Her skull is 
 worth looking at, and defies all scepticism as to what 
 tigers can do after they are shot through the brain. 
 The skin was eleven feet six inches. She was a very 
 
 9 
 
130 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 long, active animal, and light-coloured, with the pluck 
 of her sex. 
 
 I do not remember ever aiming at a tiger's head 
 before, or- shooting one in the brain.. But I have 
 shot a panther in that way, dead ; and these animals, 
 for tenacity of life, are much on a par, and of the 
 same genus. I believe that anatomists have tried 
 experiments with reference to the brain of animals, 
 and that cats and rabbits have lived a considerable 
 time after the removal of a portion of the brain. 
 Perhaps these experimentalists may be able to state 
 what is the most deadly spot. I have laid open the 
 brain of a wild boar with the sabre, exposing it for 
 five or six inches, and the animal has lived at least a 
 minute after ; and, with the exception of emitting a 
 sound between a groan and a squeak, which wild hog 
 rarely make, did not seem to care much about the 
 wound. The bear, too, is very tenacious of life, and, 
 being a cold-blooded animal, recovers from wounds 
 that the tiger would die of. As I have before men- 
 tioned, his lungs are his tender point ; having no 
 sternum, or chest-bone to protect tliem. 
 
THE PANTHER. 131 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE PANTHER. 
 
 Panthers— Their Appearance— The Author's too close Acquaint- 
 ance -with them — Their Ferocity — Adventures.: some nearly 
 fatal. 
 
 In this chapter I propose to treat of the panther, an 
 animal of the feline species, with retractile claws, in 
 its habits. a good deal like the tiger, but preying upon 
 smaller cattle — generally on goats or sheep — but 
 quite powerful enough to kill a full-grown cow or 
 bullock, and the largest deer in the forest. His 
 length, including his tail, I have never seen above 
 eight feet two inches, and more commonly seven and 
 a half. He is often taken for the leopard of India, 
 which is of the dog species, having the foot and toe- 
 nails of that animal, and not the retractile claw of the 
 feline genus. 
 
 The spots on the skin of the panther are in the 
 shape of a rose ; the yellow, or tawny colour of the 
 skin being visible in the centre of the black, and 
 the black only becoming a distinct spot towards the 
 extremities of the animal, and on his back. The body, 
 or ground-colour of the leopard, is much lighter than 
 
 9—2 
 
132 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 that of the panther, and the black marks upon him 
 are distinct round spots. The animals are quite dif- 
 ferent in their habits and nature. The panther is a 
 most formidable animal, though not nearly so big as, 
 nor above one-third the weight of, a tiger. He is 
 quite powerful enough to kill a man; and is much 
 more courageous in his attack and defence than the 
 tiger. He has constantly been known, unprovoked, 
 to attack men, and kill them in the jungle ; and he 
 comes into the villages, and even into the houses, and 
 carries children out of them. 
 
 The leopard of India is tamed and used for hunt- 
 ing the antelope on the plains. His speed, for a short 
 distance, is superior to that of any known animal : as 
 may be supposed, since, in the space of a few bounds, 
 he can catch an antelope who has had a start of 
 usually a hundred yards of him. This great speed, 
 however, is only for a short distance. He can be 
 ridden andjspeared, if the ground is pretty favour- 
 able for the horse : though this is not common. 
 
 To return to the panther, an animal with which I 
 have sometimes had an almost too intimate acquaint- 
 ance ; inasmuch as a wounded one rode on the same 
 horse with me, somewhat in the fashion in which 
 ladies and gentlemen used to ride pillion : and another 
 sprang upon, and seized by the neck, a shikaree 
 camel which I was riding. I once speared and killed 
 a small one off horseback : and have shot them when 
 in the act of springing upon me; and once I was 
 
THE PANTHER. 133 
 
 severely wounded by an immense male panther. The 
 tale will he found in its proper place. 
 
 It is not an uncommon thing for panthers to take up 
 their abode in the large drains, in cantonments which 
 are near jungles, where there are rocks and shelter 
 for them. At_ Bolarum, near Hydrabad, in 1848, I 
 killed two panthers which, having been washed out 
 of a large drain, had taken shelter in my garden. In 
 the middle of the day they broke from this, and, 
 crossing the road, went into the garden of another 
 officer. The first was found in the creepers growing 
 round the well of the garden. He was disposed of 
 in two shots, and fell dead close to the house. The 
 second — and it was some months afterwards — took 
 shelter in the corner of the garden, among some thick 
 shrubs. When I went in to look for him, the first 
 thing I saw was a very large Persian cat, belonging 
 to my friend and neighbour : and I called out in a 
 jocose manner, " Your Persian cat has been mistaken 
 for the panther." However, on being assured that 
 the panther had been last seen there, I again went 
 into the bushes, and to my astonishment saw the 
 panther crouched, with her head between her paws, 
 and the large Persian cat, with all his bristles set, 
 walking up and down like a sentry a yard before her. 
 The panther, immediately on seeing me, crawled into 
 a thick hedge, where I broke her back, and finally 
 disposed of her. A favourite resort for these animals 
 is a sendbund, or date-grove, inhabited by wild hog, 
 
134 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 the flesh of which they seem to be particularly fond 
 of. It affords them also a shelter, from which it is 
 very difficult to dislodge them. 
 
 In 1850, near Hingolee, I was beating a sendbund 
 for hog, and being quite ignorant of the vicinity of 
 any other game, had sent my head shikaree, with the 
 only rifle out with me, to the farther end of the send- 
 bund, to mark. I had scarcely beaten two hundred 
 yards when some coolies shouted out, "Here is a 
 panther! " I galloped round to the spot; and, having 
 a gun loaded with shot with me, for the purpose of 
 shooting a peafowl for dinner, I rolled down two 
 bullets into the barrels over the shot. The men 
 pointed to a bush just across a small nullah, or 
 ravine, in which they insisted that the panther was, 
 and that they saw him at that moment It is not 
 difficult for the person who sees an animal move to 
 keep sight of even a panther after he has crouched ; 
 but the most practised eye cannot discover these 
 animals after they have ceased moving : their colour 
 is so similar to the ground and bush that they are in. 
 There was no. mistake, however. For while intently 
 peering into the bush, out sprang the panther, which 
 I shot behind the shoulder, but did not stop. A 
 native officer out with me, having a pad elephant, 
 that is, an elephant without a howdah on, and the 
 identical one which upset his riders in the midst of 
 the tigers, as before mentioned, begged me to get up 
 on the elephant to recover the panther. 
 
THE PANTHER. 135 
 
 The jungle was very thick, composed of babhool- 
 trees and high grass, interspersed with date bushes. 
 So I acceded to the proposal; and my heavy rifle 
 having come up, and the native officer being armed 
 with a spear, we rode on the pad crosswise. I put 
 up the panther immediately ; and, fortunately, before 
 the elephant could see her, broke her back. Directly 
 the shot was fired the elephant turned tail, and 
 rushed into a deep and muddy ravine, where she 
 was brought up sufficiently for us to slide off on to 
 the bank. 
 
 The native officer, a very courageous man, insisted 
 on going on horseback with his spear, and circled 
 round the bush where I had last seen the panther. 
 Whilst he was doing this, I had scanned the bush 
 carefully ; and, seeing the panther lying dead in the 
 middle of it, pulled her out by the tail. Returning 
 to camp, and wishing to try the courage of a fresh 
 Arab, I supported the dead panther upon some 
 stones, and rode the horse over her. In the after- 
 noon of the same day, I again proceeded to beat 
 another sendbund in the neighbourhood, out of which 
 having started some hog, I speared and killed one 
 that came out on my side. Some had broken on the 
 other side, where there were the native officer and 
 another horseman. Shortly after this, a shikaree 
 boy ran out of the sendbund, and told me that he 
 had seen an animal with a long tail, but that he did 
 not know whether it was a tiger or a panther. I 
 
136 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 told him to run back to the line of beaters, and order 
 them to make a great noise; and, exchanging my 
 spear for a double rifle, I galloped on ahead to the 
 end of the thick part of the sendbund, and waited 
 there for a shot. »Some markers waved their hands 
 to show that the animal had gone on up the bed of 
 the river. 
 
 I again started in that direction, when, hearing 
 a shout behind me, I looked and saw an immense 
 panther, more like a small tiger, quietly trotting out 
 towards a herd of bullocks, which were about two 
 hundred yards distant. These were in a plain inter- 
 spersed with bushes. As I came up to the panther, 
 he crouched in one of them, and I galloped past him, 
 and stood at about fifteen yards from him, and, 
 though the bush was not a large one, could not see 
 the animal. After a couple of minutes he bounded 
 out, but not towards me. However, though the 
 horse was not very steady when I first put up the 
 rifle, I made a lucky shot and crippled the brute 
 behind, which induced him to stop in another bush a 
 short way ahead. Beyond us was babhool jungle, 
 with grass and some other bushes. My people came 
 up, and dismounting, as the horse was not steady to 
 fire off, though a first-rate hog-hunter, I stood on the 
 jungle side of the panther, to intercept him and pre- 
 vent him getting into it. The valiant elephant of 
 the morning was also coming up with the beaters, 
 and I directed the mahout (or elephant driver) to 
 
THE PA^THEK. 137 
 
 beat the panther out towards me. Directly the 
 elephant approached the hush, the paDther, with one 
 hound, was on her back, catching hold of the back- 
 bone with his teeth ! 
 
 I could not shoot for fear of hitting the elephant, 
 which turned tail to bolt, fortunately shaking the 
 panther off when she swung round. I now fired and 
 hit him a second time, and told the dog-boy to let go 
 the dogs on him. The fresh Arab that I had in the 
 morning, just then coming up, I jumped on his back, 
 with the light double-barrel gun instead of the heavy 
 rifle, and, hearing my favourite dog baying the pan- 
 ther in the jungle ahead, shouted to the native officer 
 who just galloped up, to follow the dog. I also, 
 after galloping some three hundred yards, came up, 
 and in reply to my question, " Where is the pan- 
 ther?" the dufifadar said, "He was here this minute," 
 pointing in front of him. The words were scarcely 
 out of his mouth, when the panther, with a roar, 
 sprang upon my horse from the left side, and, before 
 I could get the gun round, was hanging on to his 
 quarters with his claws. The horse, who had been 
 utterly careless till then, now sprang forward, bound- 
 ing as high as his head ; and, after some successive 
 lashes out with his hind-legs, kicked the panther off. 
 His open mouth was all this time within a foot of my 
 loins, and I could do nothing; for in such close 
 quarters a gun was perfectly useless against an 
 animal behind me, and it was as much as I could do 
 
138 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 to keep in the saddle. Before I could wheel my 
 horse, the panther had again hidden himself, but the 
 duffadar had kept sight of him. Dismounting, and 
 sending the wounded horse down to the river, and 
 ordering all the people, except my own shikarees, 
 out of the jungle, I took up a position a few yards 
 from the bush where the panther lay. In vain I 
 fired into this, to induce him to come out; then 
 loaded the gun with shot, and instructed the duffadar 
 to gallop by, firing into the bush, in the hopes that, 
 as he was so fond of horses, he might be induced to 
 come out, when I should be able to kill him with the 
 rifle. This did not succeed. My favourite dog came 
 up to the bush, and the panther, without exposing 
 more than his fore-leg, knocked him over, with a 
 blow which opened his shoulder, and laid bare the 
 bone of his fore-leg down to the toes. 
 
 The poor dog shrank back to me, and, dragging 
 him away by the neck, I sent him also down to the 
 water at the river. I fired repeatedly into the bush, 
 at what I thought was the panther ; and, hearing a 
 deep growl, fancied that at length I must have given 
 him a death-wound. Walking up, however, and, 
 looking into the bush, I found that the panther was 
 not in it. 
 
 At this moment we heard a shriek in the distance. 
 I told the duffadar to gallop to the spot, and shouted 
 for my own horse. Before he came up, I saw against 
 the western sky, where was the only light, from the 
 
THE PANTHER. 139 
 
 sun having set, the figure of a man running. I 
 mounted and galloped to the spot,, where I found the 
 duffadar with his horse wounded. It appeared that, on 
 coming up, he shouted out to the man that was on 
 the ground, " Where is the panther? " The reply to 
 this was, " Don't you see he is eating me ? " It was 
 so dark that the duffadar did not remark that the 
 panther was lying on 'the man, chewing his arm. 
 When he saw this., and turned to spear the panther, 
 being afraid of spearing the man, he missed the 
 animal, which then clawed his horse ; but as the 
 panther was badly wounded, the horse was not much 
 hurt. In vain I looked for ;the animal. It had be- 
 come quite dark; and after having collected the 
 wounded animals, and sent to the village to have the 
 wounded man taken into cantonments, we returned 
 to the tents. 
 
 At daybreak next morning, I first went to the 
 village, to see if my orders had been obeyed regard- 
 ing the wounded man. They had not : the excuse 
 was that they could not get a charpoy, or bed, to 
 carry. him on. This was now procured, and I saw 
 the man started. for Hingolee. The poor fellow was 
 a barber travelling from one village to another. along 
 the road. His bad fortune was to be seen by the 
 wounded panther, after he ihad been dislodged from 
 the bush, and he fell upon, and would then have 
 killed him, had not we heard Ms shriek, and the 
 duffadar come up and rescued him. I was in hopes 
 
140 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 from the man being untouched by the claw, though 
 severely bitten on the right arm and shoulder, that 
 he would get over it; but on the eighth day the^ 
 wounds mortified, and he died in hospital. The 
 worst part of it is, that though this large panther 
 was so badly wounded that he remained in the 
 jungle, to which I tracked him the next morning, 
 for a full month after this, killing any stray calf or 
 animal that went near him, I never recovered nor saw 
 him again. He must have been severely wounded, 
 from the quantity of blood found in the bushes. 
 Four animals wounded, and a man so severely in- 
 jured, that he died from it, are a pretty good proof of 
 the desperate fighting propensities of the large panther 
 of India ; called by the natives Taindwah, and Bore- 
 bucha, correctly ; and very often, erroneoiisly Bagh, 
 and Shair — which properly mean the Royal Tiger. 
 
 It is rare to find the panther in ground where you 
 can spear him off horseback ; and I should not advise 
 you to attempt it, unless mounted on a very active and 
 courageous horse, and with a very keen spear in your 
 hand. The skin of the animal is so very loose on his 
 body, that it is very difficult, except at full speed and 
 with a finely pointed spear, to run him through. The 
 skin gives so much to the weapon, that the point is 
 apt to run round the body between the skin and the 
 flesh, and the panther will make good his spring 
 under these circumstances. In riding him, you must 
 be prepared for his suddenly stopping, and crouching 
 
THE PANTHER. 141 
 
 as the horse comes up to him. If you then fail to 
 spear him through, in all probability he will bound 
 on you when you have passed. His hind-legs, being 
 the springs, are in this position doubled up ready be- 
 neath the animal ; and the bound he can take from 
 thus crouching is much farther than the size of the 
 animal would lead you to suppose possible. Should 
 you ever be in such a dilemma as within the grasp of a 
 panther, your shikar knife in his heart is themost likely 
 thing to relieve you. For some time after the above 
 story, I had but little acquaintance with panthers. 
 
 In 1852, I speared and killed a small one off 
 horseback; and in the same year, I brained and 
 killed one with a single ball. He was sitting at the 
 mouth of his cave, looking at me, about eight feet 
 off. In 1854, being at Mominabad in the Deccan, I 
 killed five panthers and a leopard, on foot or horse- 
 back, within six miles of cantonments, in a short 
 space of time ; not, however, without sundry narrow 
 escapes and some good fights. 
 
 I have mentioned before that the panther preys a 
 good deal on the wild hog in the jungle : but the big 
 boar of the sounder laughs at a family of panthers. 
 This was shown by the following circumstance. One 
 day at Mominabad, a trooper, employed to look after 
 some grass rumnahs belonging to the cavalry, came 
 to me and reported that he. had just seen, from the 
 top of a hill, a large boar with four full-grown pan- 
 thers round him, but afraid to attack, and that even- 
 
142 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 tually the boar passed through them. I went out the 
 next day to beat the low thick jungle, composed of 
 bushes and high grass, where they had been seen. 
 It was between hills too steep to ride the hog, so my 
 attraction was the panthers. Putting in a lot of 
 beaters with all the noisy instruments that I could 
 collect, I instructed them to beat to the other end, 
 where I had placed myself. When the beaters had 
 driven up to within an hundred yards of me, one of 
 them trod upon the tail of the large male panther. 
 Fortunately for the man, the panther was so gorged, 
 that he did not turn upon him ; but, moving only a 
 few yards, again crouched ; and a non-commissioned 
 officer with me, who was on horseback, and used to 
 shikar, kept his eye on him. 
 
 The beaters climbed trees all round, and called to 
 me to come and shoot him. The grass was higher 
 than my head, and there was no seeing at all, until I 
 got on the back of my little shooting horse. The 
 man who had seen him, kept pointing with his spear 
 to the spot, which was close to us. After a long 
 time I caught the twinkle of the panther's eye, about 
 two guns' length from my horse's head. Putting my 
 rifle almost between his ears, I brained the panther ; 
 the ball hitting him between the eyes. Death was 
 instantaneous. He measured seven feet six inches 
 long, and was a seven years old panther. The 
 natives calculate the age of the panther by the 
 number of lobes of the liver, and I believe they are 
 
THE PANTHEK. 143 
 
 correct. This had seven lobes. I now beat the patch 
 of jungle, proceeding- in a line with the beaters. 
 Six times I put up one of the younger panthers — a 
 three years old animal. But, owing to the great 
 height of the grass, I never could get a shot at him. 
 The last time, he was put up after the line of beaters 
 had passed him, by a man who, having quietly sat 
 down under a tree, was coming along behind the line, 
 and by chance struck the panther on the back, who 
 returned it with a blow from his paw, one claw only 
 of which caught the man in the face. The wound, 
 though only a touch, swelled in a minute as big as 
 an egg. This alarmed the rest of the people, and 
 I could not persuade them to beat out the animal : so 
 I returned to my tent. 
 
 Being thus foiled, owing to the great height of the 
 grass, I made up a double riding-saddle for one of 
 my camels, and shortly after proceeded to the same 
 jungle ; considering that now, being high enough to 
 see over the grass, I should be able to bag the rest of 
 the panthers. Instructing the men to beat as before, 
 with plenty of noise, I placed myself with the camel 
 at some distance in front of them. Scarcely had they 
 commenced, when a leopard was started, and I made 
 a very good shot, hitting him in the hind-quarters as 
 he passed me. Following him up by his blood, I got 
 another snap shot at him. in the grass, when a horse- 
 man, who was in a line with the beaters, called out 
 to me that he saw the leopard. I came on, directed 
 
144 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 by the man, and thinking that I was just about to put 
 up the leopard, when a large female panther, with 
 one bound, sprang at and caught the camel by the 
 throat. I could not shoot on account of the camel's 
 neck. But the camel, which was a very fine, power- 
 ful beast, struck off the panther with his fore-legs, 
 and then commenced jumping up and down, in a 
 manner most ludicrous to every one but myself and 
 my shikaree Mangkalee, who was sitting on the hind 
 seat of the saddle. One of the nose-ropes, which are 
 the driving reins of the camel, broke ; and this 
 happening close upon the edge of a stony ravine, 
 concealed by high grass, I bethought myself of 
 jumping off into a soft bush. Mangkalee, not being 
 in the habit of sticking so tight as I am, could not 
 keep his seat, and was pitched, gun and all, to a 
 considerable distance. While this was going on, my 
 spur — for I always ride in spurs — catching in the soft 
 cloth of the saddle, prevented my jumping clear of 
 the animal, in front of whose neck I was thrown. I 
 conclude he thought that the panther was again upon 
 him, for he struck me with his fore-leg ; by which 
 blow I was so crushed, that I had three ribs broken. 
 My rifle was pitched I knew not where. As I lav on 
 the ground, I drew my sword, determined to carve 
 either the camel or the panther, as the case might 
 require. Both, however, had disappeared in the 
 jungle. I was severely hurt, but crawled out and 
 got under a tree. 
 
THE PANTHER. 145 
 
 Afraid to put the beaters again into this jungle- 
 with so savage a panther in it, I sent and collected 
 all the village cattle from the neighbouring grazing 
 grounds. Some five hundred animals were driven 
 into the grass : while I was propped up against a 
 tree, rifle in hand, to shoot the panther. After a 
 short time, there was a rush of the cattle; and 
 literally riding on their backs, bounding over and 
 over them, but without time to strike any, broke two- 
 panthers. I could not fire on account of the cattle. 
 But let me recommend this plan for driving either a 
 savage tiger or panther, in preference to putting in 
 beaters. The panthers are themselves so scared by 
 the rush of so many cattle, that they rarely injure any 
 of them. 
 
 The panthers took up the hill side. I tried in 
 vain, owing to the injuries I had received, to mount 
 my shooting horse, who became rather excited, and 
 wished to follow the chase. A horseman, however, 
 intercepted the smaller panther, which went to ground 
 in a large hole. From this, for a long time, I tried 
 to dislodge him, but was obliged to return to the 
 tents. The next morning, while I was going back 
 to cantonments to have my ribs set, nry people 
 smoked this panther to death, and dug him out of 
 the hole. Twenty-two days after this, though very 
 sore and stiff from the broken ribs, I started for 
 Yeldah, the village near the .jungle, and beat for the 
 panthers. At about the same spot where I had shot 
 
 10 
 
- 146 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 the large male the first day, the female, who had 
 jumped upon the camel, was roused. She com- 
 menced the attack by running at a coolie, who fell 
 over, and she gave him one shake by the back and 
 passed on. Fortunately the man had a great deal 
 of clothing on, so was not much hurt. She then 
 came out at me, lashing her tail, and looking very 
 vicious. I had placed myself on the path which led 
 to the hill, by which she escaped on the former day ; 
 and seeing that I would not move, she charged up to 
 about twenty yards, when her heart failed her, and 
 I shot her through the fore-arm, close to the shoulder. 
 I then slipped two dogs upon her, one of which ran 
 wild ; the other, my favourite panther-dog, three times 
 seized her, and was beaten off; but eventually rolled 
 over, locked with the panther. A courageous horse- 
 man with me speared her, and I ran down and finished 
 her with two bullets through the chest This was a 
 proper vicious beast — a female seven years old. On 
 every occasion she commenced the attack. Some 
 time after this, I killed another panther with a single 
 ball, while going at full speed, at about a hundred 
 yards before me. This made up the four that had 
 been seen round the big boar, and reported by the 
 trooper. 
 
 Not long after this I was proceeding through the 
 famous Bootinaut corree, and not half a mile from 
 cantonments, when I saw a panther eating a cow. 
 She was some two hundred yards off. I jumped off 
 
THE PANTHER. 147 
 
 my horse with my heavy rifle, and ran, concealing 
 myself in the bushes as much as possible ; but when 
 I was about a .hundred yards from the spot, the 
 panther, which was a female, started off for the hill- 
 side. The first shot was a lucky one, hitting her 
 behind, but without breaking bones ; and the big dog 
 was slipped at her. I followed. But on the steep 
 hill-side, the saddle — from the girths being loose — 
 nearly turned round, and I relinquished the horse. 
 The dog, in the meantime, brought the panther to 
 bay in a bush, from which the first large stone dis- 
 lodged her, and my next shot killed. Looking at 
 the slain cow, a large piece from the hind-quarters 
 of which had been eaten, and then looking at the 
 slain figure of this panther, which was a small one, 
 I felt convinced that she was not the slayer of the 
 cow, but had only come in for the feast procured by 
 a larger animal. This was confirmed, also, by some 
 large holes in the throat of the cow: holes almost 
 big and deep enough to have been made by the tooth 
 of a tiger. 
 
 I then remembered that a short time before this 
 some grass in the rumnah having caught fire, a native 
 came and told me that he had seen a tiger and a 
 panther go out of it. About twenty days after this 
 occurrence, I was proceeding by the same corree, 
 and thought I might just as well beat a small patch 
 of thorny and very thick jungle, chiefly formed of 
 the gloriosa superha, which beautiful creeper grows 
 
 10—2 
 
148 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 ■wild in the jungles of India. I was lame, from my 
 horse having fallen on me on sheet rock, while trying 
 to ride hog in these impassable correes. I dismounted, 
 however, and stood at one end, while the beaters beat 
 up to me. Suddenly, out dashed an immense pan- 
 ther, which I saw at intervals only, going through 
 the bushes, and missed with both barrels. They 
 were snap shots. He kept along the slope of the 
 hill, scarcely ever showing himself: but, letting the 
 two dogs loose, I mounted, and galloped along at the 
 bottom in the bed of the river. After a good deal of 
 dodging about, the dogs brought him to bay, at about 
 a hundred and fifty feet above me. 
 
 It was a long time before I could get a shot at 
 him, though he kept knocking the dogs over when- 
 ever they attempted to go into the bush where he 
 was. At length he exposed himself ; and my first 
 barrel sent its ball through his ribs, upon which he 
 broke cover. The second barrel broke his left fore- 
 arm, and this brought him up in a large and very 
 thick cactus-bush. Being too lame to climb up this 
 steep rocky place without much pain, I sent up my 
 two shikarees and another man, with spears, instruct- 
 ing them to get up well above him, keeping their 
 spear points down, and ready ; and if they could see 
 the panther from that spot, I would come up, and 
 shoot him. They went up, and called me to come 
 and do so. When I got up, I could not see the 
 panther at all, though he was not above fifteen feet 
 
THE PANTHER. 149 
 
 from me. There were the dogs exhausted, with 
 their tongues out of their mouths, and badly wounded; 
 and had it not been for their brass collars, it is pos- 
 sible one of them might have been taken for the 
 panther. While my shikaree was saying, " There 
 he is ; don't you see him ? " and I replying, " No," 
 the panther, crawling to the edge of the bush, was in 
 the act of springing upon me, showing the whole of 
 his teeth. I had but just time to fire. The ball went 
 through his mouth, and out through his lower jaw. 
 It turned him ; and with the next barrel, I rolled him 
 over, dead. 
 
 This was the very largest panther I had then killed, 
 or, indeed, seen ; being seven feet nine inches long, 
 and his head more like the head of a small tigress 
 than of a panther. He was, doubtless, the slayer 
 of the cow. This fight had lasted half an hour. 
 My poor dog, Shairoo, had between forty and fifty 
 wounds upon him. The brass band and the steel spikes 
 of the collar were divided, and marked all over with 
 the panther's teeth. This collar had no doubt saved 
 his life. Prom the effects of the wounds, the dog 
 swelled next day to an enormous extent ; and a large 
 swelling on his left side I was obliged to open with an 
 abscess-lancet, to let out the matter. It was a month 
 before he was well, and he carried the scars with 
 him to his grave. Alas, poor Shairoo ! he died in 
 the prime of life, soon after I left India on leave, 
 in 1856 : a noble specimen of a courageous dog — 
 
150 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 and' I shall think myself very fortunate if I ever get 
 the like of him again. 
 
 On the 28th of December, 1858, three of us, 
 being on field service at Simeriah, in the district o 
 Chindwarrah, and requiring something to improve 
 our dinner, agreed to go out to shoot pea-fowl : it 
 being reported that there was nothing else in the 
 neighbourhood. I did not take my heavy rifle, nor 
 my shikaree, who remained in camp, sore-footed. 
 I had with me a light-shot gun, loaded with shot, 
 and a little revolver carbine. We had scarcely got 
 to the ground, when the first thing that rushed out 
 was a neelgai, or blue bull. We immediately started 
 in pursuit, and after I had put a bullet into one of 
 my barrels, we soon became separated from one 
 another. I had crossed through the hilly jungle to 
 the other side ; and while on horseback, at the edge 
 of the jungle, I suddenly came upon two panthers. 
 One was an immense one : but before I could dis- 
 mount, they had both entered the jungle, and gone 
 up the hill. Riding up to the top, I dismounted, and 
 placing myself in about the position where I thouo-bt 
 the panthers would come, I kept the village shikaree 
 with me, and directed the three beaters — all I had 
 with me — to throw stones into the bushes from the 
 other side of where I was standing. Almost imme- 
 diately the smaller panther of the two was roused, 
 and moving her tail, she came in my direction ; 
 when she stopped I saw clearly the point of her left 
 
THE PANTHER. 151 
 
 shoulder, but not her head, and fired the barrel loaded 
 with ball. She was some twelve yards distant, and 
 fell apparently dead. I then fired the barrel with 
 shot at her backbone, to make sure. To my astonish- 
 ment, she got up and went down the hill, every now 
 and then falling forward. I saw her distinctly for 
 sixty yards, and then loaded the gun again with one 
 ball, and one shot-charge; for I could find no other 
 bullet. 
 
 Having warned the village shikaree to keep close 
 behind me with the heavy spear he had in his hand, 
 I began to follow the wounded panther ; but had 
 scarcely gone twenty-five yards, when one of the 
 beaters, who was on high ground, beckoned to me, 
 and pointed a little below him, and in front of me. 
 There was a large panther sitting out, unconcealed, 
 between two bushes, a dozen yards before me. I 
 could not, however, see his head ; and, whilst I was 
 thus delayed, he came out with a roar straight at me. 
 I fired at his chest with the ball ; and, as he sprang 
 upon me, the shot barrel was aimed at his head. In 
 the next moment he seized my left arm and the gun. 
 Thus, not being able to use the gun as a club, I 
 forced it, crosswise, into his mouth. He bit the stock 
 through in one place ; and whilst his upper fangs 
 lacerated my arm and hand, the lower fangs went 
 into the gun. His hind claws pierced my left thigh. 
 He tried very hard to throw me over. In the mean- 
 while the shikaree, who, had he kept the spear before 
 
152 WILD SPORTS OP INDIA. 
 
 him, might have stopped the charge of the panther, 
 had retreated some paces to the left. He now, instead 
 of spearing the panther, shouted out and struck him, 
 using the spear as a club. In a moment the animal 
 was upon him, stripping him of my shikar bag, his 
 turban, my revolving rifle, and the spear. The man 
 passed by me, holding his wounded arm. 
 
 The panther quietly crouched five paces in front 
 of me. I knew my only chance was to keep my eye 
 upon him. He sat with all my despoiled property, 
 stripped from the shikaree, around and under him. 
 The first step I moved backwards, keeping my eye 
 on the panther, I fell on my back into a thorn bush, 
 having slipped upon the rock. Here I was still within 
 one spring of the animal, "who appeared, as far as I 
 could see, to be not at all disabled by the fight. 
 Nothing could have saved me had he again attacked ; 
 but " there's a sweet little cherub that sits up aloft," 
 to look out for the life of the wild hunter. I 
 retreated step by step, my face still towards the foe, 
 till I got to my horse and to the other beaters, who 
 were all collected together some forty yards from 
 the fight. 
 
 I immediately loaded the gun with a charge of 
 shot, and a bullet that I perchance found ; and, taking 
 my revolver pistol out of the holster, and sticking it 
 into my belt, determined to carry on the affair to its 
 issue, knowing how rarely men recover from such 
 wounds as mine. I was bleeding profusely from 
 
THE PANTHEK. 153 
 
 large tooth-wounds in the arm; the tendons of my 
 left hand were torn open, and I had five claw-wounds 
 in the thigh. The poor shikaree's left arm was some- 
 what chawed up ; and, if the panther was not killed, 
 the superstition of the natives would go far to kill 
 this man. Terribly frightened as he was, his wounds 
 were not so bad as mine. I persuaded my horse- 
 keeper to come with me ; and, taking the hog-spear 
 he had in his hand, we went to the spot where lay 
 the weapons stripped from the shikaree. A few 
 yards beyond them there crouched the huge panther. 
 Again, I could not see his head very distinctly, but 
 fired deliberately behind his shoulder. In one mo- 
 ment he was again upon me. I gave him the charge 
 of shot, as I supposed, in his face, but had no time to 
 take aim. The horse-keeper, instead of spearing, fell 
 upon his back. In the next instant the panther got 
 hold of my left foot in his teeth, and threw me on my 
 back. I struck at him with the empty gun, and he 
 seized the barrels in his mouth. This was his last 
 effort. I sprang up, and, seizing the spear from the 
 horse-keeper, drove it with both hands through his 
 side, and thus killed him. I immediately had my 
 boot pulled off. My foot bled profusely. Fortu- 
 nately, the wound was in the thin part of the foot, 
 and not in the instep or ancle : but the teeth had met. 
 It was now dark, and had I been unwounded, it 
 would have been useless to attempt to search for the 
 smaller wounded panther. This male measured eight 
 
154 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 feet two inches, and was one of the largest and most 
 determined panthers I have ever seen. In examining 
 his body, I found that my first bullet had struck him 
 in the throat, and gone nearly through him : the shot 
 charge had cut off one of his fore-paws. In the second 
 attack, the bullet had gone under his backbone and 
 through his body : the shot-charge had cut his other 
 fore-paw almost to pieces. 
 
 I am writing this account eight days after the 
 accident, and I thank God that my wounds are doing 
 well. I hope in another fortnight to go and find the 
 pair to this panther, which then escaped me. . . . 
 However, he was found dead, and taken into Chind- 
 warrah. Just after we left, the animal was reported 
 to have been killed a short distance from Simeriah. 
 I have the skin. The ball is in the very spot I 
 aimed at, and there is no doubt of its being the same 
 animal. 
 
THE BEAR. 155 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE BEAK. 
 
 Keasons why Dogs cannot be employed with advantage by the 
 Sportsman in India — Bears — Their Appearance and Habits — 
 Methods of spearing and hunting them — Adventures. 
 
 One of the chief difficulties in recovering or finding 
 game in India is the impossibility of using dogs. 
 First, because dogs of high breeding, whether im- 
 ported from Europe or born in the country, cannot 
 stand the sun. They become perfectly useless in the 
 heat of the day, and if you persevere in taking them 
 out, the sun kills them. In the next place, except 
 very early in the morning, and in Bengal Proper, the 
 ground becomes so very dry that an animal going 
 over it leaves no scent. Hunting-dogs cannot be let 
 loose to turn game out of jungle, as is commonly the 
 case in other countries, because the variety of game 
 in India is such, that dogs would be continually led 
 away by game which you were not at that time in 
 pursuit of. For instance, you wish to beat a thick 
 piece of grass jungle, into which you have tracked 
 panthers or bears. You let slip your dogs, and they 
 have hardly gone into the place, when some kind of 
 
156 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 deer, such as the cheetal (spotted deer), chickarah 
 (goat, antelope, or ravine deer, the gazelle of Arabia), 
 the paharee, kakur, or any other of a small kind, 
 jumps up, and leads them clean away from the game 
 you wish to hunt. Perhaps a sounder of wild hog 
 is roused, and every dog takes his own peculiar little 
 pig. You hear a yelp and a groan ; and on going 
 down, you find your favourite dog, and the very best 
 dog you have, nearly cut in two, with his entrails 
 hanging out, from a wound inflicted by the big boar 
 of the sounder. 
 
 If you have let your dogs loose in thinner grass, 
 they are continually chasing the antelope, which 
 abounds in the plain of India, and which no dogs in 
 the world can touch. I need scarcely add that the 
 higher bred your hound is, the more difficult it is to 
 prevent his being led away by every kind of game 
 that starts in front of him. The scent of these deer 
 is so strong in the thick grass, that the dogs are lost ; 
 and if out but one night, they fall a prey either to 
 the panther, or the hyena, or the wolf of the forest. 
 Probably, the best and most useful dogs are good 
 terriers, bred in the country from English stock. 
 They can be more easily replaced than any others, 
 because the European soldier in India breeds them 
 in his barracks ; and at most of the large stations you 
 can procure a good one for a gold mohur, or tliirty 
 shillinrrs. 
 
 o 
 
 A really fine and courageous dog of the mastiff' 
 
THE BEAR. 157 
 
 kind, that will stand the sun, would be almost worth 
 his weight in silver ; for by letting him slip upon large 
 game, when wounded, you would always recover it, 
 and save yourself and men from accidents. If you 
 keep dogs, I need scarcely say that you can only 
 keep them in a good kennel, and you must never 
 attempt to keep them running loose about your com- 
 pound, on account of the great number of mad dogs. 
 I do not mean that you should not keep a single dog 
 about the house ; for if you have but one, this is 
 the best plan. He is more likely to live and keep in 
 health, than when tied up. I have kept dogs alive 
 in this way for many years. 
 
 Among my many hair-breadth escapes, probably 
 that from a mad dog which got into my bedroom at 
 night, and attacked a favourite dog there, was about 
 the narrowest. It was just before daylight in the 
 morning, when the night-lamp was in its last flicker. 
 I felt for my sword, which is usually my shikar 
 sword, and is kept as sharp as a razor. This had 
 been taken away to have a new scabbard made for it, 
 and had been replaced by one which had no edge. 
 With this I jumped out of bed, and three times 
 knocked down the dog, who attacked me. At length, 
 he got under the bed, where I ran the sword through 
 him. The dog he had attacked went mad five weeks 
 afterwards, and was destroyed. 
 
 One of my most favourite pursuits in India was 
 bear-shooting on foot. There is quite enough danger 
 
158 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 in it to yield excitement enough for any sportsman, 
 as the following anecdotes will show. But first it 
 will be advisable to mention the kind of jungle this 
 animal inhabits, as well as his peculiarities, and the 
 method adopted to kill him. 
 
 There is but one kind of bear in India, native to 
 the plains. His colour is a glossy black hair, very 
 long and thick, but depending a good deal upon the 
 kind of jungle lie inhabits. The length of his body, 
 from his snout to the end of his tail, is usually about 
 six feet. Six feet four inches and a half, is the largest 
 bear I have ever killed, measured as he lay on the 
 ground. The skin, after it has been taken off, may 
 be stretched six or eight inches longer ; but this is 
 not a fair measurement. His girth, round the biggest 
 part of his body, would be four feet and a half. I 
 have never weighed one, but I should think a full- 
 grown'male bear, in good condition, would be nearly 
 three hundredweight. His head and teeth are not 
 nearly so [powerful as a tiger's, but his claws are 
 most formidable weapons ; those of the fore-paws 
 being curved, and three inches long. The fore-arms 
 and chest are very bulky and powerful, but he droops 
 toward the hinder quarters. He rarely stands upon 
 his hind-legs, except to listen, or to look out. I have 
 never seen a bear attack a man in this position, 
 when on foot, but he will rise at his enemy when on 
 horseback. 
 
 The tail is only three or four inches long, the body 
 
THE BEAK. 159 
 
 being about six feet Therefore, when be does raise 
 himself to his full length upon his hind-legs, which 
 he often does to intimidate the shikaree, he must 
 stand between seven and eight feet high ; and he has 
 been known to kill a man with a single blow of his 
 fore-paw. Their usual way of fighting among them- 
 selves is by hugging and throwing themselves on 
 their backs. If you once get within the clasp of a 
 bear, your chance of release is but a very poor one. 
 Your hunting-knife held to his chest will be the best 
 defence. 
 
 I do not believe that the animal is carnivorous. 
 He certainly does not kill for the sake of flesh : his 
 principal food is the roots and fruits of the jungle, 
 which vary according to the season of the year. 
 Three of the most favourite are the mango, the bare 
 — for which he climbs the trees and shakes the 
 branches — and the mowa-berry, which is very abun- 
 dant in many parts of India, and from which a strong 
 liquor, or wine, is distilled by the natives. During 
 the rainy season the bear commonly digs up the nest 
 of the ants in the jungle, more especially of the 
 white ants. I have shot him when covered with 
 ants. His huge claws and powerful fore-arms enable 
 him to dig a hole sufficient almost to bury himself 
 in, in a very short time. He is also. a robber of every 
 kind of cultivated fruit. He ravages the sugar-canes, 
 and climbs. the trees for the honey of the bees. The 
 bear usually takes up his abode in rocks and caves, 
 
160 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 within a reasonable distance of his food. Except 
 during the rainy season, and in very thick and shady 
 jungles, he is rarely to be found in the heat of 
 the day. In fact, his very long and thick hair is 
 given him by nature to enable him to lie in deep 
 and cold caves ; and he rarely leaves his favourite 
 mountains which contain these abodes, except to 
 satiate his appetite on the more plentiful berries of 
 the forest. 
 
 His scent is very keen, as is shown by his broad 
 and open nostrils. By this lie discovers the nests of 
 ants, many feet under ground. His sight, on the 
 contrary, is very bad in the daytime ; the eye very 
 small; the attitude with which he peers at you, 
 when his nose has shown that you are in his vicinity, 
 is something very ludicrous. I think his hearing is 
 not at all acute. The bear is most tenacious of life ; 
 and from his being a cold-blooded animal, I believe 
 he recovers, and very quickly, from very severe 
 wounds. At the same time, he is very soft, tender, 
 the least wound making him howl and roar most 
 extravagantly. Remember, and bear it well in mind, 
 that the deadly spot to shoot a bear is in the centre 
 of what is called the horse-shoe, in his chest. This 
 is a dirty white patch of that shape, and reaches from 
 his throat to between his fore-legs, a foot and a half 
 deep, and a foot broad. A bullet in the centre of 
 this goes to the lungs, and is fatal. This, therefore, 
 is the shot, if the bear is coming towards you ; and 
 
THE BEAR. 161 
 
 if lie is going away in a direct line, a rifle-ball, 
 hitting him low down in the back, will pass up 
 towards his chest, and will also kill him. Any other 
 shots but these are very uncertain, save, of course, 
 the brain, if you are close enough to shoot for it 
 
 The flesh of the bear is, I believe, not at all bad 
 eating, owing to the animal being a clean and sweet 
 feeder. The lower class of the natives who live in 
 the jungles used invariably to carry away all the 
 flesh when I killed one. I never could bring myself 
 to try it, as, when the animal is skinned, he looks 
 like a huge and deformed man, with immense mus- 
 cular arms and short legs. The Mussulmans call 
 him Adamzad, from his likeness to Admi (a man). 
 
 The jungles inhabited by bears, as I have before 
 mentioned, are generally mountainous. You have, 
 therefore, only to search about the caves and rocks, 
 and you will immediately discover if they are used 
 by the bears. They are not, however, so easily got 
 out of them ; and I need scarcely say that going into 
 a cave, underground and dark, even when the hole 
 is large enough for a man to get into, is rather a 
 dangerous business. 
 
 The plan I follow, after having assured myself that 
 the caves, or fissures of the rocks, are frequented by 
 bears, is to start before daylight, and place myself 
 immediately above the cave, or on the path leading 
 to it If there is but one path, and it commands a 
 view of the jungle below, so that you can see the 
 
 11 
 
J 62 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 bears for some time before they get up to you, do 
 not place yourself too near the cave, but take your 
 stand some two hundred yards or so from it, on the 
 path used by them ; as the bear, unless you kill him 
 with your first two shots, will get up to his cave and 
 into it. You must be very early, for they retire to 
 their caves at daylight, in many places. In secluded 
 jungles they may sometimes come out at sunset, but 
 on these occasions they sit just outside their caves 
 before proceeding for their water and food. Bears, 
 if they can be found on rideable ground, are to be 
 killed off horseback with the spear. But it is to be 
 remarked that horses which are not the least afraid 
 of panthers or wild bogs, do not like to go up to 
 bears. As long as the bear is running away from 
 them, they seem not to have any fear; but when he 
 turns to the charge, he is such an ugly brute, shaking 
 his long hair, roaring, and snapping with his teeth, 
 that a horse will rarely go up to him, especially alone. 
 I am not aware whether this pursuit has been fol- 
 lowed in Upper Hindoostan, or other parts of India, 
 but a friend of mine has speared a great many in the 
 Deccan. I have myself killed only two off horse- 
 back ; one of these I rode for, and took the spear, 
 the other was in a thick jungle. I speared him in 
 the back under my stirrup. The point of my spear 
 went forward into his chest. In this position I held 
 him for the other man, with whom I was riding, to 
 come up. His horse, however, would have nothino- 
 
THE BEAR. 1C3 
 
 to say to the bear ; and as the bear clawed my horse 
 in the scuffle, I pricked him with the spur, and, pass- 
 ing on, took out my spear. 
 
 The bear, a large male above six feet high, rolled 
 down into the ravine below, stone dead. Hereafter, 
 however, you will see that attempting to spear a bear 
 in jungle is not always to be done with impunity. 
 I have always held the opinion that two determined 
 and courageous men, in the babit of looking danger 
 in the face, can spear and kill on foot the biggest 
 bear that was ever bred in India; but the spear must 
 be of a much stouter kind than the commonly used 
 hog-spear. The hunters must be armed also with 
 the shikar knife, before described. The shaft of the 
 spear must not be longer than six and a half or seven 
 feet, and the bamboo must be a tried and proved one. 
 Even if you are inclined to try this, let me advise 
 you to have a third person with a rifle ready. He 
 must be a good shot, and be directed only to fire 
 should either of the spearsmen be seized. His shoot- 
 ing, then, must be very good, for everything will 
 depend upon it. 
 
 In attempting, however, to spear a bear on foot, 
 you should assure yourself that there is but one bear, 
 or that it is a female with small young ones. A 
 single male bear would rarely attack men armed, 
 and thus you would not be able to bring him to close 
 quarters with a spear. But a female bear, in defence 
 of her young, will attack anything, especially if she 
 
 11—2 
 
164 WILD SPOKTS OF INDIA. 
 
 cannot carry the young away with her. I have 
 never seen more than four bears together atone time, 
 and those evidently of one family. I have a great 
 many times seen and killed two or three of a family. 
 They are, however, very nearly gregarious; for a 
 friend of mine once saw and counted seven bears 
 walking out of one cave. 
 
 As I said before, therefore, you had better be 
 careful, in attacking them with spears, to be sure 
 that there is but one bear in the place. Tackle him, 
 then, by setting a couple of little terriers at him, and 
 then fight him with the spear. Holding this opinion 
 with reference to spearing bears on foot, I constantly 
 proposed to my shikaree friends to try it. However, 
 either an opportunity did not present itself, or no one 
 was willing to try it ; and the only bear I ever killed 
 with a spear, on foot, was a female which I had 
 wounded with her young one. It was thus : — 
 
 In 1848, while stationed at Bolarum near Hydra- 
 bad in the Deccan, I used to employ the villagers in 
 the neighbouring rocky hills to bring me information 
 when they saw bears return to their caves ; and as 
 they always received a present on these occasions, 
 they sat upon the rocks at daylight to look out for 
 them. I was laid up with a sprained ancle from a 
 fall, when a man came running in from Pochunpillee, 
 only five miles distant, to say that he had marked a 
 large bear go into the caves. I immediately started 
 for the spot, and having placed a lot of heaters at one 
 
THE BEAR. 165 
 
 entrance to shout, and so drive the bear out, I stood 
 at the other, ready to shoot him when he bolted. 
 This was quite successful, and out he went. I fired 
 three balls at him within the first twenty-five yards ; 
 • but from my not seeing the deadly part to fire at, he 
 went on in spite of the wounds. I followed him by 
 his blood ; but being very lame, and with a slipper 
 fastened round my afflicted foot, when I came to the 
 next mass of rocks I sat at the bottom, telling my 
 people to carry on the track. They had scarcely 
 gone on a hundred yards from me, when they 
 beckoned to me to come up, and pointing down 
 through the crevice of the rock, showed me what I 
 thought was the wounded bear. I fired, and heard 
 my bullet hit ; but to my astonishment out went two 
 bears from below me. One of them almost imme- 
 diately rolled over ; and the other (which is very 
 common with bears) stopping to condole with him, I 
 fired at, and knocked over. Before 1 could load my 
 rifle, the smallest bear of the two got up and entered 
 a large jackal-earth, on the other side of the rock. 
 The other bear also began wandering about as if 
 looking for something. There were several kolees — ■ 
 natives of the jungles, who carry matchlocks, and are 
 great shikarees— out with me ; and I thought that by 
 telling them to go and fire at this other bear, the 
 noise would put up out of the hole the one that was 
 close to me. 
 
 The kolee, who valiantly approached the larger 
 
166 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 bear, was immediately charged, and bolted up to 
 me, saying, " The bear is not wounded at all ; you 
 had better come and shoot it yourself, if you want 
 it." I therefore went down, and fired another shot. 
 Then taking a short spear, and thinking this would 
 be a good opportunity of trying the feat of spearing 
 a bear, I brought the point to the front. The bear 
 charged clown from thirty yards at full gallop, directly 
 she saw me, and I stopped her with a spear in the 
 withers. I had before this told my shikaree, who 
 had my gun in his hand, that I would spear this bear, 
 and that he was on no account to shoot, unless the 
 bear got hold of me in the scuffle. Directly the bear 
 received the spear, she threw herself on her back, 
 and I was not strong enough to hold her clown. The 
 shaft of the spear being made of the ground-rattan, or 
 cane, was not stiff enough to bear her weight. The 
 bear disengaged herself, and before I could straighten 
 the spear again, rushed upon me. The crooked shaft 
 prevented me from spearing straight, and the blade 
 passed only through the side. She very nearly 
 caught me round the waist, but I drew out the spear, 
 and as she again charged in blind fury, I allowed her 
 to pass me, in doing which I sent the spear in, behind 
 her shoulder. As usual, she threw herself upon her 
 back. My shikaree, with the rest of the men, had 
 bolted. I was lame, and, if I had any intention of 
 running, could not have done so. As the bear, how- 
 ever, performed the usual feat of rolling over on her 
 
THE BEAR. 167 
 
 back, she exposed the horseshoe on her chest ; and, 
 before she could recover herself, putting my right 
 hand and shikar knife between her fore-paws, I 
 sheathed it in her heart, killing her dead. This was 
 about the most delicious blow I ever dealt. 
 
 Proceeding to the hole where the other bear had 
 entered, and cutting a long banyan-pole from a neigh- 
 bouring burr-tree, I removed a small piece of stone 
 on the opposite side of the entrance ; then, having this 
 long stick introduced through the hole, the kolees 
 stirred up the bear inside. 
 
 I sat myself outside the cave, and immediately 
 over the hole. The bear, after a long and vain, 
 attempt to battle with the long pole, at length came 
 out, and I killed him with a ball in his back, being 
 so close that his hair was set alight. Here then was 
 the secret of the female bear being so savage, for 
 this was her young one — about two years old. The 
 male bear was brought in dead two days afterwards. 
 Thus, in a couple of hours, I had had pretty good sport. 
 
 The temper of bears is very uncertain, and seems 
 to be affected by the season of the year, as well as 
 the kind of jungle they are found in. In the Nagpore 
 province they grow very large and savage, constantly 
 killing and wounding men. In other parts of India 
 I have found the natives most averse to showing me 
 their haunts, as they said, " We can get up a tree to 
 avoid a tiger, but a bear will follow a man up a tree, 
 and there is then no avoidina; him." 
 
168 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 The female bear has, I believe, never more than 
 two young ones at a time. She takes them out with 
 her almost immediately they are born, carrying them 
 on her back when she is alarmed, or when they are 
 tired. I do not know whether they are born blind ; 
 but I have certainly seen" them with their mother 
 when they have not been more than a foot high, and 
 as big as a moderate-sized spaniel. The male bear 
 does not appear to be very courageous in defence of 
 his family. The only time I have known him attack, 
 unprovoked, when in company with a female bear, 
 was on the following occasion. I was marching in 
 the Nagpore district, and had gone to a village for 
 the purpose of looking after a tiger which was said 
 to have killed four people ; the last, an unfortunate 
 woman, regarding whom the villagers told the follow- 
 ing ridiculous story: — A lot of them were cutting 
 grass. A tiger jumped upon, and carried away the 
 woman. The husband collected the villagers, and 
 followed him. The tiger kindly bit off one arm, and 
 left it. Continuing to carry on the woman, he then 
 bit off a leg and left it ; and so, eating and carrying, 
 the tiger went on. The disconsolate husband at 
 length picking up the remains, brought them in and 
 burnt them ! I examined the sandy nullahs in the 
 vicinity of the village, but could only find the marks 
 of a large panther ; which animal, being described as 
 constantly coming into the village at night, I believe 
 was the slayer of the woman. After great difficulty 
 
THE BEAK. 169 
 
 I purchased two calves: these wretched villagers 
 objecting to sell anything that is to be tied up for a 
 tiger, even though men are being killed around their 
 village. 
 
 The calves were tied up on either side of the 
 village, but without being killed ; and I at length 
 determined to go and sit for the tiger among the 
 rocks. It was on a Sunday morning, and I arrived 
 just at daylight. The spot commanded a look-out for 
 miles over the jungle, and it was the season when the 
 mowa berry was ripe — the month of March. At length 
 we saw two bears at about a mile off. These animals 
 are so black that they are visible at very great dis- 
 tances in the jungle. 
 
 It being Sunday, a day on which I never go out 
 shikaring, and had only on this occasion come for 
 the purpose of shooting what I supposed was a man- 
 eater, I whispered as much to my shikarees, and said 
 that I would not shoot the bears to-day. I saw that 
 they were coming up to the cave over which I was 
 sitting; and thus, in order that I might not be 
 tempted to fire at them, I sat a little farther back, 
 and heard them come in beneath me. I was not aware 
 at this time that the bears in the Nagpore province 
 were so vicious, and that they destroyed as many 
 human beings as the tigers. The report from one 
 district — the Raipore district of Nagpore province — 
 stated that in the year 1855-6, more than a hundred 
 and fifty people had been killed by bears and tigers. 
 
170 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 Had I known this, I should not have spared these. I 
 sat up for a long time, until I knew that there was no 
 chance of the tiger returning ; and marking well the 
 situation of the caves, I returned, intending to bag the 
 Sunday bears on Monday. 
 
 The next morning, accordingly, I went out, sat 
 till about eight o'clock, and I saw no sign of them. 
 About that time, there passed some neelgai. These 
 are the largest deer in India: properly translated, 
 blue cattle, for they have the horn of the bullock, only 
 smaller, and the limbs of a deer. The bull, who when 
 old is of a dark grayish blue, is a very handsome and 
 bulky animal, measuring fourteen hands two inches 
 at the shoulder, and perhaps more. The cows of the 
 herd are of a much lighter colour. They live together 
 in herds of from five to fifteen, rarely exceeding the 
 latter number. 
 
 The blue bull of this herd stood at least two 
 hundred and fifty yards from me. So, there being 
 no chance of either the tiger or bears, I put up the 
 third sight of the Wilkinson rifle, and shot him in 
 the shoulder. He did not fall, but went away lame, 
 and was found dead at the water in the evening:. 
 The range of rocks extended to the other side of 
 the hill where I had seen the bears ; and in the 
 afternoon I searched them, but in vain. Just before 
 sunset, the villager out with me pointed to some low 
 rocks at a distance, where, though there were no 
 caves, he stated the tiger sometimes was seen. 
 
THE BEAR. 171 
 
 I had made up my mind that it was a panther. So 
 when I came to the foot of the rocks, which were low, 
 and in many parts quite rideable, I left my mare and 
 spear under a tree at some distance from the rocks : 
 and not expecting to see any large game, we were 
 proceeding in a most careless manner. I had not 
 even my sword slung on my shoulder — a precaution 
 which I rarely forget to take. My younger shikaree, 
 Nursoo, instead of being in his place behind me, was 
 some ten yards to the right. All of a sudden I 
 observed him stoop behind a rock, and point to his 
 left front. I took the direction, and there before me, 
 under a small bush, and about eight yards in front, 
 sat the Sunday bears. They were squatting upon 
 their haunches, side by side : the female nearest to 
 me. She looked over her left shoulder, as much as 
 to say, " Shoot at me if you dare." I could not see 
 the horse-shoe, so aimed for her lungs, through her 
 shoulders. Over she went to the shot ; and without 
 a moment's hesitation, the male bear charged. When 
 he was ahout four yards from me, I gave him the left 
 barrel ; but as he was coming at full speed, I had not 
 time to shoot for the brain. 
 
 On receiving the bullet, he fell backwards on the 
 top of the female, and the two began howling, and 
 rolling one over the other. My fool of a dog- boy 
 let go the dogs, and thus I could not fire for some 
 time. At length I fired at the mass of black hair. 
 Both the bears now began going down the hill. The 
 
172 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 male stopped for a moment, and with the left barrel 
 of the heavy Westley Richards I knocked him. over 
 again. The two dogs could do- nothing with the two 
 bears; and I had only a light gun, one barrel loaded 
 with ball, and the other with shot. While loading 
 the rifles, I was constantly interrupted by the bears 
 driving the dogs right up to us. At length the 
 female bear, with one dog, took away to the right, 
 round the rocks ; and before I could get my rifles 
 ready, the male bear started off at a gallop in the 
 other direction, with Shairoo after him. Of course 
 the dog could do nothing with him alone, and before 
 I could get my mare and spear, both the bears were 
 out of sight. 
 
 I started at full speed for the rocks where I had 
 seen them the day before, about a mile distant : 
 and as I was approaching them, I heard a shot ; and 
 galloping in the direction of the sound, I came up 
 to my head shikaree, Mangkalee, who informed me 
 that Nursoo must have fired it. I galloped off, 
 shouting the man's name, but received no reply ; and 
 became very anxious, as it was now nearly pitch 
 dark. There is scarcely any twilight in India. At 
 length I found Nursoo, who, with the horse-keeper, 
 had followed the female bear, by whom they had been 
 charged. Nursoo fired the barrel of shot into her (not 
 knowing in which the bullet was), and they both bolted 
 for their lives. The big dog had run the female bear 
 to ground, but I never saw either of them again: 
 
THE BEAR. 173 
 
 though the following morning I tried to vain to track 
 the male bear. 
 
 Being obliged to leave the next day, I told the 
 villagers that most probably one or both the bears 
 would die of their wounds : and that if they watched 
 the caves, they might have the reward, whenever the 
 bears died. On my second march from the place, I 
 heard that one had come out and died : which, I 
 believe, is a common thing for them to do, when they 
 are very severely wounded. I lost these bears at the 
 time from night coming on. You may remember that 
 I also lost the panther that wounded so many animals 
 and the man, from the same cause. 
 
 I therefore think that it is more advisable to leave 
 large game alone in the evening. My next chapter 
 shall commence with a hunting-trip in which different 
 sorts of game were killed, chiefly bears. 
 
174 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 BEAKS AND BUFFALOS. 
 
 An unsuccessful Bear and Buffalo Chase — A prosperous Day's 
 Sport. 
 
 On the first of April, 1856, I had to march through 
 the Raipore district to visit Belaspore, and to choose 
 some new ground for the station there. I sent on 
 my people a day before, and galloped out thirty-one 
 miles on the road. On arriving at the village, it was 
 reported that there were five tigers, large and small, 
 in a wooded nullah some two miles off. A friend of 
 mine, having a shikaree elephant, very kindly offered 
 me the use of her, intending himself either to shoot 
 on foot or from a tree. This, however, I declined. 
 But as we were to he a few days together, and he 
 was very urgent in the matter, I agreed that we 
 should go on the elephant, turn and turn about ; and 
 we cast lots, by odds and evens, with percussion caps, 
 who should ride the elephant first. The lot fell to 
 me. The trackers returned, but were not quite 
 certain of the whereabouts of the tigers. Thev 
 reported, however, that there] was a large wild buf- 
 falo, very savage, in the jungle. 
 
BEARS AND BUFFALOS. 175 
 
 I got on the elephant, while my friend went round 
 the other side of the jungle; and we had separated 
 but a short time, when I saw the buffalo standing out 
 in the plain, a couple of hundred yards at least from 
 the jungle. On the other side of him was a large 
 herd of village cattle, I suppose at least two hun- 
 dred in number. Keeping between the buffalo and 
 the jungle, I approached to within a hundred yards ; 
 when the elephant, or the mahout, turning a little 
 from the buffalo, and showing symptoms of being 
 unsteady, I had him stopped, and taking a deliberate 
 aim at the left shoulder of the animal, I lamed him 
 with the first barrel of the heavy Westley Richards. 
 The second barrel also sent its bullet into his side, as 
 he turned. I fully expected that, being reported a 
 savage, he would now have charged ; but on the con- 
 trary he went off, and though lame, faster than the 
 elephant could follow. 
 
 Both the barrels of the Wilkinson rifle were dis- 
 charged at him, but neither bullet reached him. I 
 loaded and kept on following ; but as I could not get 
 within a, hundred and forty or fifty yards of him, and 
 liad unsuccessfully tried to bring him to the charge 
 by two more shots, I dismounted from the elephant, 
 and followed him on foot. 
 
 My friend in the meanwhile had got upon his horse, 
 with his pistol in his hand, and by continually turn- 
 ing the horse round and round in front of the buffalo, 
 tried to drive him towards me. However, this was 
 
176 WILD SrORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 all in vain ; and before I could mount my own horse, 
 which was some distance behind, the buffalo had dis- 
 appeared in a deep and wooded nullah. 
 
 Taking a double carbine in hand, and following 
 in the direction he had taken, I saw on the other side 
 of the nullah what I thought was the wounded buf- 
 falo, standing. I put spurs to my horse, and soon 
 headed him, turning him in the other direction. 
 However, to my astonishment, he began to stride 
 away as fast as my horse, and got into bush-jungle, 
 full of holes, such as are made by the receding of the 
 water after the rains. The jungle being of that kind 
 from which stakes are cut for dividing fields in that 
 district, it was most dangerous riding. The buffalo 
 went through the bush as if it was so much grass. 
 My little gray, who was only thirteen hands two 
 inches high, was nearly down with me two or three 
 times, when he would have been severely wounded 
 by the stakes. I could not bring the buffalo to a 
 standstill, in order to let me have a steady shot ; and 
 I did not at all like going nearer than forty or fifty 
 yards of him in this sort of jungle, in which, had he 
 turned, he would have caught the horse, and impaled 
 us on his huge horns. 
 
 At length my sword-belt was unbuckled, and 
 pulled off by the bush. Stopping to pick up the 
 sword, I lost sight of the buffalo, and never could 
 find him again. I now began, while my horse was 
 recovering his wind, for I suppose we had galloped 
 
BEARS AND BUFFALOS. 177 
 
 for two miles and a half in this very rough and dan- 
 gerous ground, to calculate the chances of finding my 
 way back. It was quite evident that this buffalo was 
 not the one I had wounded. It was impossible that 
 he could have galloped at this rate, if he had been, 
 for though considerably blown, and almost bellowing 
 as he went, with his mouth open, his speed had been 
 undiminished. At this time two horsemen came up 
 to me, and we slowly retraced our steps. Suddenly 
 we saw a bear at about a hundred yards before us ; 
 and giving my carbine to one of the horsemen, and 
 taking his spear, I galloped quietly after him, as he 
 was going in the direction we wished, and I hoped 
 out of the thick bush. On coming rather nearer to 
 him, my little horse showed symptoms of not liking 
 this new customer ; and seeing my fresh horse — a 
 large Arab fifteen hands high, who was in condition, 
 and a first-rate hog-hunter — I jumped off the little 
 shooting horse, and mounted the bay. 
 
 I soon caught up the bear again, and pressed him 
 along in the hopes of driving him out of the thick 
 brushwood to the right-hand side, where it appa- 
 rently became thinner and more rideable. At length, 
 losing all patience, and fearing that I should never 
 find any better ground, I rushed the horse up along- 
 side of the bear, who, meeting me in the charge, was 
 speared in the mouth. He held, however, on to the 
 blade; and the fight, or rather first round of it, 
 which commenced on the right, or spear hand, ended 
 
 12 
 
178 WILD SPOKTS OF INDIA. 
 
 on the left, when he disengaged himself. At him 
 again I went. But just as I was on the point of 
 spearing him, he knocked the spear out of my hand 
 with his left paw, and ran against the horse who 
 was much alarmed. The bear also nearly got hold 
 of me. 
 
 Dismounting to pick up my spear, one of the horse- 
 men came up at speed towards the bear ; when his 
 horse shied to the left, and the man rolled over the 
 tail of the horse, coming down heavily to the ground. 
 Fortunately for him, the bear passed ahead of his 
 horse, and did not see the prostrate rider. 
 
 I had got severely bruised and knocked about by 
 the jungle, both in the run after the buffalo, and in 
 this fight. But if the bear was savage, so was I. 
 Suddenly the animal turned for the thicker jungle. 
 Digging my spurs into the horse to bring him up 
 rapidly, (the left one was broken and lost;) and coming 
 round a water-hole, the bear again met me in the 
 charge. He received the spear in the mouth as be- 
 fore, holding it tight between his teeth. The horse 
 was now much alarmed; and the bear, swinging- 
 round from my holding on to the spear, got behind 
 him. I thought I should be able, as the spear was 
 well in his throat, to thrust it far enough to kill him, 
 especially as he kept on chasing us in this position ; 
 and I was determined also not again to lose my spear. 
 The frightened horse kept on bounding frantically 
 forward; and at one time I was hanging to the saddle, 
 
BEAKS AND BUFFALOS. 179 
 
 with the bear at the other end of the spear, ready to 
 pick me up when I should fall ! 
 
 At length I pulled the spear out of the brute's 
 mouth — the blade nearly bitten off, and the spear 
 useless. Certainly I never had such a narrow escape 
 of being pulled out of my saddle. To my disgust 
 the bear still went on, though at a slow pace, and 
 bleeding much at the mouth and throat. It was of 
 no use trying to take the horse up again to the 
 animal, even if my spear had not been rendered 
 useless. So bruised, breathless, and very much dis- 
 gusted, I was fain obliged to let the bear go. 
 
 At this moment a man came up with a message 
 to say that my friend had mounted his elephant, and 
 found three tigers in the jungle, and begged me to 
 come back immediately ; which I did. Before, how- 
 ever, I had reached the place, he had killed two of 
 them. The buffalo he had gone after also; but, 
 though crippled, he was unable to come up to him, 
 and I saw no more of either the buffalo or the bear. 
 
 This was a day of great toil and utter want of 
 success. Such often happens to the best sportsmeD 
 in India. Let us, however, see the reasons for the 
 failure. In the first place, when I commenced riding 
 after the buffalo, and saw that he galloped quite 
 free and at a great pace, I ought to have given up 
 the chase at once; knowing that it could not be the 
 wounded one. I might have known also that with a 
 carbine, carrying bullets twenty to the pound, I could 
 
 12—2 
 
180 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 not expect to kill him; while had I remained, and taken 
 my heavy rifles, in all probability the first wounded 
 buffalo would have been recovered. 
 
 In the second place, it was great folly and fool- 
 hardiness to try and spear a bear in bush jungle, off 
 a horse who had never seen a bear in his life, and 
 without the assistance of either dogs or another spears- 
 man. On examining the spear, I found that it was 
 quite blunt at the point, and one which ought never 
 to have been taken out ; nor would it have been, had 
 there been any chance, as I supposed, of requiring a 
 spear. Spears must be constantly looked at by your- 
 self, and constantly sharpened ; for the horse-keepers, 
 to whom they are usually entrusted, are in the habit 
 of carrying them carelessly at times. The points get 
 knocked off or bent ; and this is not discovered until 
 you find to your cost that they will not enter the 
 animal you are charging. On this occasion, I lost a 
 wounded bear from this cause, and spoiled for bear- 
 spearing a very fine Arab, off which I had sabred 
 wild hog after they had been wounded with the spear, 
 and who, though once wounded in sabreino- ho<r, ua( j 
 since then shown no fear of them. Over and above 
 this, I had a narrow escape of my life. 
 
 Let us proceed, however, to the second day's shoot- 
 ing, the success of which amply made up for the bad 
 fortune of the first. 
 
 My friend on the elephant commenced at one end 
 of the same patch of jungle, and I, having gone into 
 
BEARS AND BUFFALOS. 181 
 
 the middle of it, and finding it very thick and high, 
 got up a tree. To my surprise and disgust, I found 
 there was a native on a tree close by, from the very 
 top of which he called out : " Here's something 
 coming ! " and at that moment I turned and saw a 
 large buffalo standing at about one hundred yards 
 from me, but so covered by the bush that I could not 
 see his withers or shoulders. He moved on, and I 
 slid down the tree, and followed. He was alarmed, 
 however, and I did not get near him : and when just 
 coming to the end of the thick grass, a man from a 
 distance cried out, " Look out, sir, there's a bear 
 coming towards you ! " At that moment she came 
 out of the ravine, and I shot her in the horse-shoe 
 mark in the chest. She still, however, came on, and 
 took the second barrel within two or three inches of 
 the same spot, and then fell over, dead. 
 
 Scarcely had my rifle been loaded, when I heard 
 six shots fired. Thinking my friend had fallen in 
 with a tiger, I advanced and stood behind a bush 
 close to the ravine up which, in all probability, if 
 there were any other animals in the jungle, they 
 would come. A native at a distance shouted out that 
 my friend had killed a bear, and in a few minutes I 
 saw Ills elephant moving towards my right. Sud- 
 denly his shikaree in the back of the howdah pointed 
 at something in front of them ; and the mahout, 
 urging his elephant forward, convinced me that 
 there was a tiger on foot. Hastening rapidly in the 
 
182 WILD SPOETS OP INDIA. 
 
 direction given, I had just time to stand upon a white- 
 ants' mound, about a foot and a half higher than the 
 ground, when I saw a tiger stealing through the grass. 
 He was at about forty yards from me ; and with the 
 first barrel of the Westley Richards, I sent a ball right 
 through him at the shoulders. He suddenly turned, 
 intending to make his rush back, either to the jungle 
 or at the elephant. The left barrel sent its ball 
 through his hind quarters, and he rolled over. My 
 friend on the elephant now fired a ball or two at him, 
 and finished him ; though he received his death-wounds 
 from my rifle. We collected the beaters, cut some 
 small trees down, and with the horsekeepers' leading- 
 ropes having made fast the tiger and bears, started 
 them for camp ; ourselves galloping home sharp. 
 
 At four o'clock p.m., as is my custom, I again went 
 out into the jungle, where I had the day before been 
 foiled b} r the bear — partly in the hopes of finding him, 
 and partly with the intention of getting some venison 
 for the people: the small red deer, called baikree, 
 the buck of which has four horns, being numerous. 
 I was, what may be called, mooning along on the 
 back of my little gray, when suddenly, and at one 
 hundred yards ahead of me, a single large male 
 buffalo sprang to his feet. He evidently was my 
 friend of the morning. I was off the horse, and had 
 the Westley Riclmrds in my hand in a moment. 
 The jungle was bush, similar to that I had yesterdav 
 ridden through; so his huge head and back were 
 
BEARS AND BUPFALOS. 183 
 
 above it. The buffalo came a few paces at a sharp 
 trot towards me — no doubt his usual ruse, to intimi- 
 date any one coming near him. But after my expe- 
 rience of his kind, I knew my only chance was to 
 get near him. So I ran towards him ; but when I 
 was about sixty yards off, and before I could fire, the 
 brute was in his stride and flight ; and though my 
 two bullets sounded on his thick hide, he went on 
 and never stopped, or allowed me to come within a 
 quarter of a mile of him again. I was a good deal 
 annoyed, for I wanted a pair of horns, and had not 
 seen any of the bubulus genus since 1835 ; in which 
 year I had, with others, killed five. 
 
 As a general rule, the buffalo is not to be met with 
 south of the Nerbudda river, nor the bison to the 
 north of it ; but I believe both are found in the great 
 jungles about Sumbhulpore. I hope some day to pass 
 through these, and to have ocular demonstration of 
 the fact ; for both of these huge beasts are well 
 worthy of the sportsman's rifle. Like the wild male 
 elephant, both the bison and buffalo are generally 
 very savage when found alone. This is caused by 
 their being turned out of the herd for bad conduct, 
 sometimes wounded by the others, and always sullen. 
 
 They seem to brood over their wrongs, and to 
 desire to wreak their vengeance on everything they 
 meet. I am, however, inclined to think that many 
 of these animals are provoked to charge by the 
 retreat of the hunter on first seeing them. No man 
 
184 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 has any business in the jungle infested by wild 
 animals, and in pursuit of them, if he has not 
 presence of mind at least sufficient to keep him 
 facing his foe. I do not doubt that many accidents 
 are caused by the want of determination at the 
 moment of danger. Nor ever keep a shikaree, or 
 gun-carrier, in your service who has once showed 
 want of nerve, or left you at such a time. 
 
 I returned after a long and fruitless pursuit, and 
 never saw my friend the buff again. The next day 
 we went out — it was my turn on the elephant. I put 
 up a large male tiger in the same patch of jungle, 
 but did not see him until my friend had had a shot, 
 and wounded him from a tree. I then took him up 
 on the elephant, when, the tiger charging, we killed 
 him between us. After this we beat for a long time 
 without seeing anything. My friend returned to 
 camp on the elephant, and I remained out till I had 
 bagged two of the little red deer with the rifle. 
 This gave flesh, and consequently satisfaction, to all 
 parties in the camp. 
 
 The next day, being the fourth of the month, we 
 broke ground and marched, starting soon after day- 
 light. The villagers assured us there was a tiger in 
 a ravine, a coss (two miles) off from our new encamp- 
 ment. We started at one o'clock to beat it : my 
 friend on the elephant. I got to the other end of it, 
 and tip a tree — but no tiger was to be found. We 
 were going along on either side of a patch of jungle, 
 
BEAES AND BUFFALOS. 185 
 
 I on horseback, when I suddenly came upon a female 
 bear, asleep. By the time I had sprung off, and got 
 hold of my rifle, from out of the mass of black hair 
 a young one emerged, and stood on his mother ; but 
 before his little peering eyes had sufficiently made 
 out the intruder, and before he could wake his 
 mamma, I had shot him dead. Thus roughly awoke, 
 the bear jumped up, and seizing her dead young one, 
 made a rush to escape. It was too late. The deadly 
 rifle missile knocked her down. Three more shots, 
 however, were required to kill her. 
 
 The villagers, who up to this time had been very 
 chary of their information regarding the bears in 
 these jungles, now saw that the killing of them 
 involved them in no danger, and volunteered to show 
 us a jungle where there were lots of bears. We 
 determined to beat it homewards, and about half a 
 mile apart. The jungle was low and thorny, with 
 every here and there a good-sized tree. I placed two 
 parties, of half-a-dozen men in each, at a hundred 
 yards on my right and left, with strict injunctions 
 not to make a noise ; but on finding a bear, to stop 
 and send a man to me. 
 
 Scarcely had I commenced, when I heard a shout, 
 " Sahib ! sahib ! " (sir, sir,) " reech hai ! " (here's a 
 bear). Of course this noise had awoke the animal, 
 who was all ready for a bolt, with his eyes only round 
 the trunk of the tree where he had been lying. When 
 I had got about thirty yards from him, out he dashed 
 
186 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 like a flash of dark lightning, through the thorn 
 jungle; and though I had two snap shots at him with 
 the rifle, and hit him with both barrels, he was not to 
 be persuaded to stop. 
 
 Again I warned them regarding the necessity of 
 keeping silence, and we had proceeded not half a 
 mile before another bear was found, and lost in a 
 similar manner. Rather disheartened, I called in my 
 flanking parties, and sent them to join the lookers-on 
 in the rear : for half the villagers had by this time 
 collected, or, rather, kept following us as spectators. 
 Having sent them all back, with threats of dire 
 punishment if they approached any nearer than they 
 were — some three hundred yards — I again advanced. 
 It was now nearly sunset — feeding-time for the bears 
 — and I saw a very large bear stalking along down 
 the slope of a hill, a long rifle-shot ahead of me. 
 Marking the direction he was taking, I intercepted 
 him just as he was passing through a narrow nullah. 
 He was right side on to me ; and the first ball from 
 the heavy rifle so sickened him that he could go no 
 faster than a walk. Turning every few seconds, as 
 if to charge, he got a shot from the rifles or guns ; for 
 I had not time to load, for fear of losing him in this 
 running fight. 
 
 Fortunately, I had a double-barrelled carbine out 
 with me, and with the last barrel I shot him through 
 the head. This was the eighth shot, seven of which 
 hit him. So tenacious is the bear of life. He mea- 
 
BEARS AND BUFFALOS. 187 
 
 sured, from. Ms nose to the end of his backbone, six 
 feet one and a half inches. His tail, which is always 
 a very short appendage to a bear, was three inches 
 more. This measurement was made as he lay dead, 
 and not after the skin was taken off. I have known 
 skins stretched a foot nearly, after being stripped 
 from" the body; but this is not the proper way of 
 measuring, and gives a false idea of the size of the 
 animal. After a time they again shrink considerably 
 more than when alive. 
 
 I proceeded a little farther, when I came on three 
 bears, all of good size, evidently going out to feed on 
 the mowa-tree berry, which constitutes their chief 
 food at this season. I dropped into a ravine before 
 them, but they scented me, and would not approach. 
 So, after waiting some time, I endeavoured to get 
 near to them. The largest — a female — saw me ; but 
 before the trigger could be pulled — for I was aiming 
 at the horse-shoe mark in her chest — she turned, and 
 I had to fire at her back, at forty yards. Away she 
 went, with a howl, and all three ran some two 
 hundred yards. Here it was much more free from 
 bush ; and having made us out clearly, they came 
 charging up to within forty yards of us. The 
 villager, my water-carrier, showed evident signs of 
 alarm ; but my shikarees and self could not restrain 
 our laughter at seeing these beasts, every now and 
 then, jumping several feet from the ground, throwing 
 their paws up, and catching at the lower branches of 
 
188 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 a tree as they came up — all in the hopes of intimi- 
 datina; us. Finding this manoeuvre did not answer, 
 they stopped, and turned to our right. I hit the big 
 one again, as she exposed her flank. But off they 
 all rolled, making straight for our camp, which was 
 about a mile and a half off. We ran, and again I 
 got a long shot at the mass of rolling black hair, and 
 lamed one of the smaller ones. These were two- 
 year old bears : and after this, being quite done up, 
 I jumped on my little gray, with a spear in my hand, 
 and keeping some fifty yards to the right of the 
 bears, by shouting and hallooing drove them in the 
 direction of the camp, across the dried-up paddy, 
 or rice -fields. I have mentioned before that these 
 animals are very blind and short-sighted, so they 
 went on galloping, until they were within one hundred 
 and fifty yards of the camp. Then commenced a 
 scene of uproar that baffles description. Out rushed 
 troopers, horsekeepers, servants, and followers with 
 all sorts of weapons ! 
 
 The bears came to a dead standstill. The whole 
 of the villagers, who were the spectators, brought up 
 the rear at a very respectable distance, say a quarter 
 of a mile ! The camp-followers were in front I, 
 and one or two of my people, who had by that time 
 come up with my rifles, were on their right flank. 
 On their left was a short plain, over which they did 
 not wish to go, as it was towards the village. At this 
 juncture, a liorsekceper of mine, who had the carbine, 
 
BEARS AND BUFFALOS. 189 
 
 in his eagerness, had got nearest, and to within sixty 
 yards of the bears ; and in a moment they made a 
 rush at him. 
 
 The boy, forgetting that he had got the carbine in 
 his hand, first started running, and then let off one 
 barrel in the air. I put spurs to my little horse, and 
 ran him in between the animals and the boy, and this 
 turned them. Back they made their rush for the 
 jungle whence they came ; when, my Wilkinson rifle 
 being put into my hand, I jumped off the horse, and 
 by a very fortunate shot — indeed quite a crow, after 
 being made unsteady from galloping — I killed the 
 largest bear. The distance was one hundred and 
 twenty yards, and the ball passed through her back 
 and lungs, and she fell over dead. The other two 
 went on. My friend, who had just come up, saw the 
 scrimmage from his elephant's back, and jumped on 
 his pony ; but neither his nor my little gray would 
 go up near enough to spear ; and the two bears, in 
 spite of the mob, camp-followers and all, got back to 
 the jungle. My friend had not seen any shikar from 
 his elephant, except some wild hog ; while I had, on 
 foot, been fortunate enough to bag and bring in four 
 bears, and a four-horned deer, which I had killed 
 just after our first beat in the afternoon. 
 
 After leaving this, we marched for Belaspore, every 
 day killing some large game ; and up to the 14th, I 
 made the bag of two tigers, eight bears, five deer of 
 various sorts, and a wolf— which is as good shootino- 
 
190 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 as falls to the lot of most sportsmen in India. I do 
 not think that anything worth particular notice 
 occurred in killing these animals. 
 
 I had almost forgotten to mention that bears are 
 great climbers. They constantly get up fruit-trees, 
 shake them, and descend to eat the fruit. This 
 usually shows the hunter that Bruin is in the 
 jungle. 
 
191 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 WILD ELEPHANTS. 
 
 The parts of India in Tvhich they abound— They must be shot in 
 the Brain — What sort of Bullets are best — Adventures — Direc- 
 tions and cautions for less experienced Sportsmen. 
 
 Tstis sport — and a most glorious one it is — has been 
 often written about. Ceylon is considered to be tbe 
 head-quarters for it. However, the great Wynaud 
 jungle, which lies at the foot of the Neilgherry Hills 
 —and all that vast forest from Mysore to the western 
 Ghats, from Manantoddy to Coimbatore — the great 
 range of mountains that run from Trichone almost to 
 Trichinopoly — as well as the Courg country — all hold 
 elephants. The Arnemullee (which, translated, means 
 elephant-hills), and, I believe, the Brumagenees, are 
 overrun by them : though every year their numbers 
 are being thinned. 
 
 I killed my first elephants in 1840 in the Tirhen- 
 hullee jungles, some fifteen miles from Manantoddy, 
 in company with a gallant sportsman, who met with 
 an early death a few years afterwards. The system 
 pursued was to send out koormbins — the jungle men 
 of those parts — to bring us information : and in those 
 
192 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 days elephants were so numerous, that I think out of 
 the four times that I went out, I never once carne 
 home without killing. Starting at two o'clock in the 
 morning, we used to ride out the fifteen miles, and 
 then commence hunting. 
 
 The first thing, for one who desires to be success- 
 ful in this sport, is to obtain a knowledge of the 
 animal's head : the brain being the only spot which 
 the Indian sportsman shoots for. Obtain, then, and 
 examine the skull. You will see that the brain is 
 contained in a very small compass, and lies very far 
 back. Your ball has to traverse some feet of bone 
 before it can reach the brain. In the fore part, and 
 near the base of the trunk, the bone will be found 
 soft and much honeycombed; and above each eye 
 there is not so much thick bone to shoot through. 
 The former of these is what is considered the front 
 spot. You fire at the bump, which is at the upper 
 part of the trunk. But when shooting transverselv, 
 aim just over the eye. You must shoot for the 
 brain, and at as near a distance as possible : always 
 taking into consideration the level the animal is 
 standing on, with respect to you. If his hind- 
 quarters are lower than his fore, and accordingly 
 the back part of his head lower than the part 
 which the trunk proceeds from, you must aim very 
 low, in order to hit the brain. But if he is standing 
 on a decline, or charging down hill at you, you must 
 shoot very high. If he has his trunk in the air, it is 
 
WILD ELEPHANTS. 193 
 
 of no use your firing, except that, if you cannot move 
 aside, he may be turned by the shot ; but you cannot 
 kill him. 
 
 In Africa, Gordon Cumming has killed elephants 
 by shooting them behind the shoulder. I have never 
 done it, nor have I ever heard of any one doing it for 
 certain. But then I have never used steel-tipped 
 conical bullets ; though I have known many good 
 sportsmen who used very heavy rifles and guns : and 
 though one assured me that he killed an elephant 
 through the neck, I never heard of his having tried a 
 ball behind the shoulder. Yet it is not at all imprac- 
 ticable, so far as I can see ; and I may live to try it. 
 I always used zinc bullets; but lead mixed with a 
 small portion of quicksilver — say, an ounce to two 
 pounds of lead — is much better. This does not re- 
 duce the weight of bullets : indeed it increases it, and 
 makes it almost as hard as zinc. The latter is not 
 much more than half the weight of lead, and cannot 
 take the grooves of the rifle at all. In fact, if it were 
 not that you shoot at elephants at such short dis- 
 tance that the bullet has not time to rise, zinc would 
 be useless. Baker, in his interesting book, TJie Rifle 
 and the Hound, giving a description of this sport in 
 Ceylon, considers that lead will go through anything. 
 I have seen it quite flattened against the bone of the 
 elephant's head, and taken out in that condition, after 
 death. 
 
 That elephant-shooting requires much practice is 
 
 13 
 
194 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 certain, from the fact that young hands at it, though 
 very good shots, are rarely successful. Indeed, that 
 famous sportsman, Captain Garrow, who probably 
 at his death had killed more elephants than any man 
 in India — and if you count only tusk-elephants, per- 
 haps more than any man who had ever shot — assured 
 me, that for the first two years he did not bag even 
 one. He had commenced with a very large-bored 
 gun. I have known other sportsmen, who turned 
 out very well afterwards, shoot at elephants for a 
 couple of years, knock them over, but never able 
 to persuade them to remain ! It was not my own 
 case ; for I bagged five elephants in the first four 
 times I was out, though I have had but very little of 
 this sport since. 
 
 In the year 1845, being in the Neilgherry Hills, 
 and hearing a report from my koormbins that they 
 had marked some elephants in a sholah, or wood, 
 close to JNeddiwuttum — the bungalow on the top of 
 the Goodaloor pass — I galloped out the eighteen 
 miles, and went down into the wood, where I found 
 a very large tusk elephant alone. He was just 
 moving from the water ; and I followed him up one 
 of the steep hills, and through the stinging-nettles, 
 which in that place grow to the height of six feet. 
 At length, losing all patience, as the huge beast, 
 apparently walking quite at his ease, still kept thirty 
 yards ahead of me, and thinking that I should bring 
 him down to the charge, I fired at the side of his head 
 
• WILD ELEPHANTS. 195 
 
 behind the ear, as he swung himself about in going 
 up the hill. 
 
 For the first time with such large game I was using 
 a double rifle by Kennedy, that carried bullets of 
 three and a quarter ounces weight. It had been made 
 to order, but was an ounce heavier than it should 
 have been, through a mistake. You may well believe 
 that it was no joke carrying this small cannon after 
 an elephant, up one of those steep hills through the 
 nettles. But not having seen an elephant for five years 
 — when I had been, for a young hand, rather success- 
 ful — I never doubted for a moment that I should 
 kill the animal with the left barrel in the charge. 
 
 I had not, however, calculated on the down-hill; 
 and though I hit him in the right place for even 
 ground, the large bullet only made him swerve very 
 slightly. He swung his trunk round, and knocked 
 over my second gun-carrier. My first, the now 
 famous elephant-shikaree, Hoorcha, of the Neilgherry 
 Hills, fired a barrel of my light smooth bore into his 
 trunk, as he passed. The fallen shikaree was more 
 frightened than hurt, but he caught me by the knees, 
 and it was very nearly becoming a tragedy. Hoorcha 
 handed me the little gun, one barrel only being 
 loaded; and directly the elephant could turn, he 
 curled up his trunk and came straight up the hill at 
 us. I let him come to within five paces, when I hit 
 him in the centre of his head, and he reared back- 
 wards, crashing through a clump of bamboos. But 
 
 13—2 
 
196 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 he was up immediately: and as we sat without 
 moving in the long grass and nettles, to my great 
 delight he lost sight of us, and went on. My blood 
 was well up now. I loaded quickly and followed the 
 savage, who was trumpeting, and crashing through 
 the jungles, till I came upon a female, who rushed by 
 me, too fast for me to make at all certain of her. I 
 then came on five females of the herd, who had heard 
 the firing, but not knowing whence it came, were 
 standing like a wall. I walked steadily up to the 
 nearest one, who, hearing a dry stick crack under my 
 foot, suddenly turned her head, and as suddenly fell 
 dead, with a ball from the right barrel of my little 
 gun. The huge tusker had, however, gone off at a 
 great rate ; and it being evening, I lost him, and had 
 to return to the Neddiwuttum bungalow. 
 
 The next day, laying my koormbins on his track, 
 they followed him down the slope of the Neilgherries 
 to the Kokoor ghat or pass — nearly forty miles as 
 they went — while I went by the road ; but in vain. 
 Here we all got a bad fever, which did not appear in 
 some of us, myself among the number, until our 
 return to Ootakamund. A dhobee, or washerman, 
 who would not go to hospital, died ; and when I was 
 very ill, the koormbins brought me word that the 
 big tusker was seen, grievously wounded, with a large 
 running sore on his head, some ten miles from Segoor, 
 near Tippicardo, a little off the direct road to Banga- 
 lore, and that he was verv weak and savage. But I 
 
"WILD ELEPHANTS. 197 
 
 was on my back, and too ill to move. Before I 
 recovered he had left the spot, and was never found 
 again, to my knowledge. 
 
 The tempers of elephants, like those of other 
 animals, and of men, are at some seasons very dif- 
 ferent from what they are at others. When down at 
 the Kokoor jungles, looking for this wounded tusker, 
 I was one day caught in very heavy rain. After the 
 rain had ceased, we moved on, and, coming to a 
 koormbin village, and requiring a guide to the 
 Kokoor bungalow, I used the plan of drawing out the 
 inhabitants by holding up a long roll of tobacco. It 
 is wonderfully successful for this purpose, and no 
 sportsman in these jungles should be without it. 
 These wild men of the jungles will eat an incredible 
 quantity of it ; not merely chewing and spitting out 
 the quid, but allowing to pass into the stomach at 
 one time enough to poison half-a-dozen men who 
 were not used to it ! They consider, and very 
 rightly, that it is a powerful febrifuge. My own 
 shikarees used to eat a good deal instead of smoking 
 it. They stated that the latter affected the lungs, 
 and that they could not ascend the steep hills of the 
 Neilgherries if they smoked. They are right ; for no 
 doubt smoking, to any excess, affects the wind, and 
 more especially smoking the hookah or hubble-bubble. 
 
 After some time I succeeded in catching a couple 
 of koormbin boys, to show me the road to the bun- 
 galow ; they having declared that there were no 
 
198 WILD SPOBTS OF INDIA. 
 
 elephants in that part of the forest. The words had 
 scarcely left the mouth of the boy who was guiding 
 us, when a large tusk-elephant, coming at a quick 
 pace, met us. The guide, whispering " Anee ! anee ! " 
 which means, in the Malabar, " elephant," rushed 
 farther to the rear ; and at fifteen yards I had a fair 
 shot for the lump in the centre of the head. To my 
 surprise, the gun, which was my favourite silver- 
 mounted one, after what appeared a very long time, 
 made a hissing sound, denoting that the powder was 
 wet, and at length went off, without recoil. I think 
 that the bullet must have dropped from the animal's 
 head, without penetrating at all. Fortunately the 
 brute was not vicious ; for if he had not turned from 
 the narrow path we were on, he must have quietly 
 walked over the lot of us, commencing with me ; for 
 there was not a single tree near us. The fact was — 
 and it shows how careful one ought to be with guns 
 during rain — that the shikarees had kept the muzzle 
 up, and the water had run down the barrels. Water- 
 proof covers ought always to be taken out with guns, 
 when there is any chance of rain falling. 
 
 I loaded quickly, and followed the track on foot. 
 In a mile or so we came up ; when Hoorcha, who 
 was tracking, suddenly stopped, and stepping aside, 
 gave me a push which nearly sent me against the 
 hind quarters of the tusker, who was passing through 
 some thick bamboo jungle. I could not shoot him 
 from behind, so I got round to his front, and within 
 
WILD ELEPHANTS. 199 
 
 a few yards of him, but on the higher ground — he 
 standing on the low ground, with his tusks nearly 
 touching me. But before I could pull the trigger, 
 he had scented me, and rushed off into the swamp. 
 In this — perhaps half a mile long, by five hundred 
 yards broad — the burroo reeds were twelve feet high, 
 growing in water from a foot and a half to two feet 
 deep ; not a tree in them ; and so thick that we could 
 only follow in the track of this elephant, or in some 
 other track previously made. I sent men to get up 
 certain high trees, in the forest on the edge of the 
 swamp, and to wave their blankets when the tusker 
 moved. This was rather ticklish work. Every now 
 and then, a bison would rush through the burroo 
 reeds on either side, and round went the muzzles 
 of all the guns. ,At length I again came up to the 
 elephant, and heard him distinctly chewing the reeds. 
 When he stopped to listen, we were obliged to stop 
 also ; or the splash of the water would have betrayed us. 
 
 It was all of no avail. He was very hungry, 
 and had evidently been hunted before, and perhaps 
 wounded; for I could never approach near enough 
 to get a shot again, and at length lost him when he 
 took to the forest. The muckna elephant, that is, the 
 male without tusks, is generally vicious, as far as 
 my experience has shown. It was one of them that 
 killed poor Lieutenant Wedderburn, in the year 1853, 
 in the Wynaud jungles, not very far from Tippicardo. 
 
 One day, in the Kokoor jungle, I was sitting with 
 
200 WILD SPOETS Ot INDIA. 
 
 my back to a large tree, on the bank of a steep 
 nullah. A large herd of elephants, in single file, 
 came from behind, and passed me within five yards, 
 on their way down to cross the nullah. I kept 
 anxiously looking for the large tusker of the herd, 
 but there was not one ; and at length the entire lot, 
 probably thirty elephants, had passed. The little 
 tuskers, with their sharp-pointed tusks, went gam- 
 bolling down the steep side, and sticking their tusks 
 into .their mothers' quarters, with a slight shriek and 
 trumpeting. We could not refrain from laughing at 
 the sight, though we felt very much down about our 
 bad luck. 
 
 I was asking Hoorcha where the large tusker could 
 be, when, from an opposite hill, and half a mile off, 
 we heard a loud trumpeting, and were not long 
 getting across towards the sound. The hill-side was 
 very steep, with not a blade of grass or undergrowth, 
 but large forest-trees grew some thirty yards apart ; 
 and going up this steep hill were three elephants, two 
 of them tuskers. The nearest to us had tusks about 
 three feet long ; and sixty paces ahead of him was a 
 magnificent old tusker, with a splendid pair of ivories 
 in his head. Before him, again, was a female ele- 
 phant. It would not have been difficult even in this 
 ground to have circumvented the large tusker, had 
 the female not been immediately before him. But 
 she was very wide awake, and was continually look- 
 ing back. At length, wearied out with climbing the 
 
WILD ELEPHANTS. 201 
 
 hill, and with crawling and stooping, and feeling that 
 I should never get a good shot at the tusker, I fired 
 at the side of his head at ahout thirty yards, being 
 at the time about parallel with him. Down he came, 
 crash, with his head t6wards me ; but before the smoke 
 had cleared, the koormbin, who was carrying one of 
 my spare rifles, fired immediately over my shoulder, and 
 so close to my ear that the report nearly stunned me ; 
 and, before -I had recovered, the tusker had picked 
 himself up, and was three hundred yards ahead, up 
 the interminable mountain. I never caught him up 
 again. 
 
 This koormbin had been in the service of a man 
 who allowed his shikarees to shoot — in my opinion, a 
 very dangerous practice, and one that ought not to be 
 allowed, except at moments of imminent danger ; iu 
 short, I consider it as unsportsmanlike as it is dange- 
 rous. Those who allow it will some day find their 
 spare guns all emptied, and themselves standing, per- 
 haps, before a wounded tiger, with a discharged gun 
 or rifle in their hands. 
 
 It was the day after this piece of bad luck, and 
 while looking for the wounded tusker, that I came 
 upon what I thought were his fresh tracks ; and, 
 after ringing him, I got to an immense creeper, in 
 which he was quite hid. Leaving all my shikarees 
 at the foot of the nearest tree, which was some fifty 
 yards from him, I crawled up to about ten yards, 
 and kneeling, waiting for my friend to eat his way 
 
202 WILD SPOKTS OF INDIA. 
 
 up to me. To my great disappointment, when I saw 
 Ms head I found out that it was not a tusker. His 
 body and feet were not visible. So thick was the 
 creeper that I could not see the position he was in 
 sufficiently to make sure of the side shot over the left 
 eye, that nearest to me. At length I fired, when he 
 was a spear's length from me ; he rushed close by me 
 on recovering from the shot, but stopped after going 
 a hundred yards or so. Unfortunately, some days 
 before, in this trip I had broken the cock of my 
 favourite gun, and as I had only the big rifle, which 
 I was afraid to use, I had borrowed a very good rifle 
 from a friend. This was the first time of using it, 
 and the bullets were so tight that they could scarcely 
 be got down, and then only with much noise. The 
 muckna elephant heard this, and began following me, 
 while I was loading. When this was finished, I again 
 went up to him, but could only see the upper part of 
 his head. There was no tree near : however, Hoor- 
 cha kept on urging me to shoot : I did so, and the 
 muckna charged right up to us, and was only turned 
 by my second barrel, when he was all but over us. 
 Again he took up his position in the impervious 
 creeper, and Hoorcha's advice now was to leave him 
 alone. " Sahib, he has no tusks ; and it is not worth 
 while, for the sake of the reward, to run the risk of 
 one of us being killed." So I left him. Nota bene 
 upon this. — Do not go out shooting savage game with 
 guns that you do not know ! 
 
WILD ELEPHANTS. 203 
 
 This Kokoor trip was altogether one of bad luck. 
 We went back to the hills, and, as I before men- 
 tioned, we all caught a fever, from which we did not 
 get free for a considerable length of time. 
 
 The last time I had with elephants was in the 
 Arnemullee Hills, in August, 1845. It was only for 
 eight days ; I had but four shots at elephants alto- 
 gether during that time, and the last day that I was 
 in that magnificent teak forest I killed two tuskers, 
 right and left. The tusks of the largest were only 
 some three feet three inches long, but they were the 
 only elephants that had tusks at all ; and as they 
 walked up on either side of me, as I was standing 
 behind a tree, I bagged them both. This was before 
 these jungles were much known. Since that time 
 a great number of elephants have been killed there. 
 In the first four days I would not pull trigger at 
 anything else, for fear of disturbing the game I had 
 particularly come after, though I saw herds of bison 
 every day. At length, being disheartened, I shot 
 one of these last ; and during the seven days I shot 
 there my bag was — two tusk-elephants, as above men- 
 tioned, one bison, three bears, and a boa-constrictor, 
 and this out of some twelve shots, the rest being at 
 bison. 
 
 Elephant-shooting requires much practice, more 
 particularly to enable the sportsman to see at a glance 
 in what position the animal's head is : the brain must 
 be reached, and only in certain positions can this be 
 
204 WILD SPOUTS OF INDIA. 
 
 done. As a general rule, the older the elephant the 
 more dense is the bone, and the more difficult, there- 
 fore, for the bullet to penetrate. I have before stated 
 that, when an elephant curls his trunk up and raises 
 his head, carrying it high, it is almost impossible to 
 kill him, for the brain cannot be got at. All that 
 can be done is to turn him, and if he is a determined, 
 vicious beast, who will not turn, and you have no 
 friendly tree to dodge behind, the case is a dangerous 
 one. Your only chance is by running sideways, and 
 at a rather acute angle, to the direction in which the 
 animal is charging you, in order to escape his sight ; 
 then crouch down in the brushwood or grass, and lie 
 as still as you can. The sight of the elephant, though 
 very keen, is very circumscribed ; he consequently 
 very soon loses sight of an object, if it remains 
 motionless. 
 
 It will be expected that I should give some in- 
 structions as to the manner of hunting the elephant. 
 I have had but little experience, and, therefore, write 
 with diffidence on the subject. It is actually neces- 
 sary that you should employ some of the koormbins, 
 Karchas, Napas, or whatever particular tribe of men 
 inhabit the part of the forest you propose to shikar in. 
 All these, from being in the habit of seeing elephants 
 almost daily, thoroughly understand their pecu- 
 liarities, and are rarely frightened when comino- 
 near them. Their keenness in tracking is wonder- 
 ful ; they will follow an elephant, and make out his 
 
WILD ELEPHANTS. 205 
 
 track, over the bare rock, and tell you. pretty accu- 
 rately how long it is since he passed. If j r ou have a 
 good number of these jungle men, and elephants are 
 plentiful, the best way is to give them orders the 
 night before to make arrangements among them- 
 selves for starting at or before daylight, two and two, 
 to look for elephants. They generally know what 
 parts of the forest they are to be found in, at that 
 time ; and when any one of these parties finds an 
 elephant, one of the men immediately gets up a high 
 tree to watch him, and the other returns to give the 
 kubbur, or news. 
 
 Some hour, say ten o'clock, should be named, at 
 which the parties are to return to camp. I need 
 scarcely say that you should be always ready with 
 your gun-carriers, to start directly the news is 
 brought. In a bamboo jungle, elephants are heard at a 
 great distance pulling it down to feed on. They may 
 also be heard trumpeting, if the wind is blowing to 
 you, nearly a mile off. This, with the large track, 
 would make it appear a sort of shikar easily carried 
 on; but you will find that even to an experienced 
 sportsman it is quite the reverse ; and owing to the 
 denseness of the underwood of the forest, to the 
 poisonous leeches, and to the hilly country in which 
 these animals are most commonly found, this peculiar 
 kind of shikar is one of the most fatiguing you can 
 pursue. The jungles they frequent are invariably 
 very unhealthy at all seasons of the year, except for 
 
206 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 about two and a half months, say from the 20th of 
 June to the 5th of September, that is, from the time 
 when the first heavy rains have well washed out all 
 the dead leaves and malaria, until the time when the 
 rains are about to cease. 
 
 It is a strange fact this, the cessation of malaria 
 during the time mentioned, in the Wynaud and other 
 southern jungles. I need scarcely, however, point 
 out the'disadvantages the sportsman contends against 
 at this season ; liable to be drenched to the skin 
 while out shooting, his tent and everything about 
 him in a very damp and uncomfortable state; and 
 the great risk that he runs from his guns hanging 
 fire, or not going off at all. But what can quench 
 the love of shikar in the heart of the man once imbued 
 with it ? That which others consider infatuation and 
 a folly, is to him the breath of life : 
 
 " That for itself can woo the approaching fight, 
 And turn what some deem danger to delight ; " 
 
 not the fight against our fellow-man and brother, but 
 against the wild beast of the forests, which God has 
 ordered us to destroy. 
 
 Another, and the more common way of following 
 the sport, especially if you cannot procure a number 
 of jungle trackers, is to get up at daylight, take your 
 own breakfast, and make j'our shikarees eat theirs 
 before starting; then taking with you a biscuit or 
 sandwich, and your cliagul or leather water-goblet, 
 
WILD ELEPHANTS. 207 
 
 and your flask of wine or brandy, to start for the 
 day. You take a direction which will bring you 
 across the usual runs of elephants who may be going 
 from one feeding-ground to another. When you 
 come on a moderately fresh track, you put on your 
 best trackers, and follow at the best pace you can. I 
 need scarcely tell you that if the elephant is also 
 travelling, you may go in this track for fifteen or 
 twenty miles, without ever seeing the animal. This 
 distance you have to retrace, unless, from knowledge 
 of the localities, you may be able to shorten your 
 backward journey. Day after day have I run 
 elephants' tracks in this way. Sometimes the animals 
 themselves are only a short distance ahead, which 
 you can tell not only by the freshness of the trodden- 
 down grass, but by their droppings, or by the mud 
 marks against the sides of the forest tree, where 
 they have rubbed themselves ; then by the crushing 
 of the bamboos ; then by a shriek, which sends your 
 heart into your mouth ; then by the disappearance of 
 a great brute's quarters, through the clump of bam- 
 boos just in front of you ; and at length by the flash 
 of a pair of ivories, which brings you to the pitch of 
 excitement. 
 
 Now keep cool, if you can. Look at your own 
 rifle's caps, and at those of your gun-carriers ; and 
 if the jungle will permit of it, and the wind (which 
 is of the utmost consequence) blows away from them 
 towards you, get round, by making a detour to the 
 
208 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 leeward side of the animals, and post yourself quickly 
 behind a tree in the path which a fine tusker is appa- 
 rently about to take. 
 
 All now depends upon your shooting. Let the 
 elephant come up to within fifteen paces of you, and 
 be sure that you see the deadly spot over the eye. 
 Then between that and the upper part of the ear, 
 according to the distance and the evenness or other- 
 wise of the ground, aim for the brain. These side 
 shots are more certain, I think, than the front one, 
 and they are more likely to be presented to you 
 when standing behind a tree. If the animal stops, 
 with his head so placed as not to present itself for a 
 good shot, make a slight noise with your foot, or let 
 your shikaree do so behind you, and keep your rifle 
 ready to your shoulder. The elephant will sud- 
 denly turn his head to the sound, and you ought 
 to bag him for certain. Any sound, such as a 
 slight cough or cluck with the mouth, will answer 
 as well. 
 
 Smooth bores are preferred to rifles by many for 
 this sport. I always preferred the rifle. For if the 
 bullet is not too tight, and the cloth is greased, there 
 is no difficulty in loading. I have my rifle bullet 
 sewn in the cloth, for facility in loading. 
 
 Always take out with you a tape with the feet and 
 inches marked on it ; twelve feet long will be enough. 
 You will be able to tell pretty accurately the size of 
 the elephant you are following by measuring his fore 
 
WILD ELEPHANTS. 209 
 
 footmark in the soft soil ; twice the circumference 
 of that will be the height of the animal at the 
 shoulder. 
 
 I must now finish my account of elephant-shoot- 
 ing, a sport in which great practice is necessary to 
 ensure success. The lover of it alone will be 
 induced to stand the fagging consequent on its pur- 
 suit; but success amply repays him for many disap- 
 pointments. 
 
 14 
 
210 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 • THE BUFFALO AND THE BISON. 
 
 The Buffalo and Bison — Their Appearance, Size, and Habits — 
 Methods of hunting the Buffalo — Adventures — The Bison. 
 
 Tee buffalo is not common throughout India, but 
 large numbers are found in the grass churs along 
 the banks of the Ganges river, and in other parts 
 of Bengal, and also in the Sumbhulpore jungles, and 
 the Raipore and Chanda districts of the Nagpore 
 province. As a general rule it is found that the 
 Nurbudda river is a boundary to the north of which 
 the bison is not known, nor to the south of it the 
 buffalo. This is nearly correct: though there are 
 jungles to the south-east of this river which both of 
 these animals inhabit. The}- are of different habits ; 
 inasmuch as the buffalo likes jungles with heavy- 
 grass and swampy ground without hills ; while the 
 bison rejoices in hilly tracts, and scarcely ever in- 
 habits very flat jungles : yet he, too, is fond of 
 swamps and reeds, and they feed alike on grass. 
 The single or solitary male in each genus is a dan- 
 gerous animal, especially after he has been wounded. 
 
THE BUFFALO AND THE BISON. 211 
 
 His single blessedness is usually caused by bis own 
 sullen temper, which leads him to commit acts of 
 violence on other members of the herd, who, in con- 
 sequence, band together and drive him out — often 
 severely wounded. 
 
 I will first treat of the buffalo. He resembles the 
 tame animal in form, but is vastly his superior in 
 size and strength. He does not measure in height 
 much more, I think, than fifteen hands, or fifteen and 
 a half ; at least, I have never killed one higher : 
 but for that height his girth is very great. Eight 
 and a half feet is a common measure for a full-grown 
 bull. His limbs are very short and powerful. The 
 pastern bones measure scarcely four inches ; the 
 shank, or cannon bone of the fore legs, that is, the 
 metacarpal, is about seven inches long, and the 
 fore-arm, from knee to elbow-joint, about fourteen 
 inches ; consequently, he is- often deeper from his 
 withers to below his heart, than he is from that to 
 the ground. The horns of a fair-sized bull are each 
 from five to five and a half feet long, and eighteen 
 to twenty inches in circumference. They are very 
 beautiful, curving inwards at the points, and they 
 take an exquisite polish. The largest I ever saw 
 were two pairs, the heads of which had been found 
 in the bed of the Nurbudda river. They were 
 standing in the verandah of the Commissioner, Mr. 
 Fraser, of Jubbulpore: this was in 1838. With 
 the piece of the frontal bone between them, one pair 
 
 14—2 
 
212 WILD SPOUTS OF INDIA. 
 
 measured against the wall six feet, and the other 
 five feet eight and a half inches ; and they were as 
 thick as a large man's thigh. I have never myself 
 killed any buffalo with horns of such dimensions. 
 
 But to the hunting of them. Soon after the com- 
 mencement of the rainy season, which lasts, say, 
 from the middle of July to the middle of April, the 
 jungles, they inhabit are one vast sheet of grass ; in 
 some places open without trees or bushes, in others 
 almost impenetrable. When on foot in this grass, 
 you cannot see anything ; if, therefore, you have not 
 an elephant to follow the buffaloes on, you had better 
 ride a horse, off whose back you can, if necessary, 
 shoot. You then follow the herd as you would on 
 an elephant; and when you are about a couple of 
 hundred yards distant, you get off, to the leeward 
 of them, if possible, and stalk to as near as you can 
 get before you fire.. You must use heavy rifles, with 
 large balls hardened, if you can, in the manner I 
 have before described, with a little quicksilver. You 
 must aim at midway between the withers and the 
 bottom of the girth, and behind the shoulder-blade. 
 The ball will then go direct into his lungs ; and if 
 he does not drop immediately, he will not run above 
 two or three hundred yards. He will scarcely ever 
 be able to rise again off Ms knees. 
 
 In Januaiy, 1858, I was marching with a field- 
 force from Nagpore to the Sumbhulpore country 
 (which was tbcn in a disturbed state), on the western 
 
THE BUFFALO AND THE BISON. 213 
 
 side of the Jonk river, which is the boundary of the 
 two districts. A patail of the village of Luckumpore 
 came and volunteered to show me a herd of wild 
 buffalos, adding, that his own tame hayla, or male 
 buffalo, had mixed with them, and that he could not 
 catch him. I replied, " Suppose I shoot yours by 
 mistake ? " He said, " Shoot the brute ; he has been 
 lost to me for several months, and I don't care about 
 him." I went out, and having wounded a spotted 
 stag off the back of my elephant (which had only a 
 pad on, and was quite new to the work), I was fol- 
 lowing him by the blood, when I came upon a herd 
 of buffalos. I wounded a large one, which I fol- 
 lowed up and killed : it proved to be a cow. I then 
 got off the elephant and followed the herd on foot 
 without getting another shot, for a good distance. 
 It becoming dusk I returned ; and as my head shi- 
 karee, carrying my heavy Wilkinson rifle, had been 
 ill with fever, when I struck the road to camp, I 
 sent him home, and went on with my other shikaree, 
 and with a light carbine rifle and the revolver, to 
 have a look at the dead cow. 
 
 About two hundred yards from her we came upon 
 the man I had left to watch, who told me that a single 
 bull had come to the cow and smelt her, and that he 
 was standing now not far off; and pointed in the 
 direction. There he was, true enough, looking rather 
 big, too, in the dusk. I now wished that I had not 
 sent away my heavy rifie, for these small weapons 
 
214 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 are not to be depended upon. However, I walked 
 up to within fifty yards of him in the grass, and 
 gave him both barrels of the carbine, which I suppose 
 must have missed him altogether, as he did not move. 
 It was then becoming rather dark. I loaded and 
 fired: on receiving the ball from the right barrel, 
 he bolted, and received the other also, without 
 apparently caring a sou for them. This was my 
 first success with a buffalo since 1835, when as a 
 griff I killed a large male, and helped at the death 
 of four others. 
 
 On my return from Sumbhulpore — where I was 
 ohliged to remain to watch our Nagpore frontier, for 
 some two months — I was again near Luckumpore. 
 In spite of the very high and thick grass, my fortune 
 was pretty good. I bagged five more buffalos — 
 four of them being -bulls — two tigresses, two bears, 
 seven spotted deer, a neelghai, and other game : all 
 on foot, except one cow-buffalo. 
 
 On the day of our arrival at a place called Chirkoo, 
 a poor villager was brought into camp dreadfully 
 gored b}' a male buffalo. Another man had been 
 killed some time before ; so that there was evidently 
 one, if not more, viciously inclined. The first day 
 I went out, I found a herd some two miles from 
 camp ; and walking up to about one hundred yards, 
 they were making off, when I broke the form-aim of 
 the bull nearest to me. I got on the pad-elephant, 
 and followed through the high grass, but lost the 
 
THE BUFFALO AND THE BISON. 215 
 
 wounded one and fired at another good-sized buffalo, 
 which, being found dead the next day, proved to be 
 a cow. The herd, however, now took across an 
 open plain, and I dismounted ; and after a very long 
 chase got two long shots and lamed the largest, a 
 bull. He stopped under a tree. I took up a 
 position behind the next tree, some forty yards 
 distant from him, and fired. He had a fine pair of 
 horns, but never -charged, though he continually 
 threatened to do so ; and at length he died igno- 
 miniously. 
 
 A few days after this, the villagers reported a herd 
 of buffalos, some four miles off. They had left men 
 watching them ; but when we came to the spot, neither 
 men nor buffalos were to be found. We started on 
 the track of the latter, and after going a short dis- 
 tance, one of the two villagers with me got up into 
 a tree to look out. , I thought that he stayed up an 
 inconceivably long time, so beckoned him impatiently 
 to come down, which he did very reluctantly. On 
 touching the ground, all he could whisper was that 
 there was a single buffalo before us, one that would 
 use his horns. Upon being urged to show him, 
 he scarcely went thirty yards before he sloped up 
 another tree. I got him down, but before he had 
 gone as much farther, he wanted to get up another : 
 I caught him, however, by the leg, and put a stop to 
 this fun, by insisting that he should show me the 
 animal. He walked, with great trepidation, some 
 
216 WILD SPOETS OF INDIA. 
 
 forty yards farther, and then pointed to a large horn 
 with its point just showing itself over the grass. I 
 did not know whether the owner was asleep or dead, 
 and so, putting the man behind me, walked nearer, 
 when up sprang an immense bull. I was some forty 
 yards from him, and as he stretched himself to his 
 full height, and while he was winking his eyes (for 
 he had been asleep), I caught him in the centre 
 of Ms chest with the right ball of the Wilkinson 
 rifle, and, as he turned, I gave him the other 
 below the withers. He galloped like a racehorse 
 for three hundred yards, nothing being visible but 
 the polished tips of his horns glancing through 
 the high grass. I started rapidly upon the broad 
 track he left, directly I had loaded the rifle, and 
 came up to him on his knees, with his head towards 
 me. 
 
 I had not then found out accurately the best spot ; 
 so I aimed again at his withers, with the first barrel, 
 at five yards distance. Of this he took no notice 
 whatever. I now went behind him, with the inten- 
 tion of chinking his spine. The ball went right 
 through his backbone. It seemed to galvanize him, 
 for he sprang off the ground higher than the high 
 grass round us, and I thought that one of us was 
 a dead man. We retreated ignominiously, though 
 with face to the foe, and rather disgusted, behind a 
 tree to load. Then, sending a man up a tree, he 
 reported that he was exactly on the same spot, on 
 
THE 'BUFFALO AND THE BISON. 217 
 
 his knees, in the same position as when I last fired. 
 I now walked up close, and shot him in the brain 
 through the left ear. " Bos pro/undit Jiumi." He 
 was a dead buffalo. This was the manslayer, they 
 declared. He was gored in several places, besides a 
 long and deep half-open scar all down his left flank. 
 As he lay, he looked immense, the neck displaying 
 enormous power. 
 
 We recovered "our villagers at length, and they 
 began to get off his skin and cut him up. I turned 
 the edge of my shikar sword in cutting his vast head 
 off ; and the Mahommedans of the camp had a glorious 
 feed ; for my two Mussulman shikarees, though with 
 great difficulty, had hullal-kur'd, or cut, the throat, 
 with my keen sword, whilst he was yet alive, and 
 had repeated the orthodox prayer. After this, I went 
 out twice without success, further than wounding 
 and pursuing the buffs. The jungle was too high 
 and thick to see anything else, or at least to get a 
 shot at it ; but on the last day of our stay in that 
 part of the country, I started to a village near Luck- 
 umpore, on the report from the villagers of buffaloes 
 being there. The animals were in a large plain 
 where paddy, or rice, was grown during the rains ; 
 now nearly bare, with a little grass and bush here 
 and there. They were wide awake, and would not 
 let me approach nearer than one hundred yards, at 
 which distance I aimed at the chest of a large one 
 looking at me. Off went the herd ; and as they 
 
218 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 cleared the other side of the plain, I saw the villagers 
 trying to intercept a buffalo who was going on 
 three legs, but who evidently had no idea of being 
 stopped by them, for he held his way through them 
 nobly. Springing on my galloway, I laid into him, 
 and at length galloped round him; and jumping 
 off, and hooking my leading or shooting rein to 
 my leather waist-belt, T stopped right on his path — 
 the same which the herd had taken just before. 
 He came on gallantly until he was forty yards 
 from me, when he stopped, evidently not under- 
 standing why I did not move out of his path, like 
 the rest. 
 
 I now came to conclusions with him, by bringing 
 him on his knees with the first barrel, and killing 
 him dead with the second. On examining him, I 
 found that the broken leg was from a former wound, 
 and was not a fresh one ; and we soon discovered 
 that this was the bull I had broken the leg of the 
 first day I was out His want of condition was 
 accounted for by his having been wounded eight 
 days. I followed up the track of the herd on my 
 shooting-horse, and suddenly came upon three buffs. 
 One of them was a full-grown male, and he did not 
 appear to care much about my being near him. I 
 walked up, and at forty-five yards shot him in the 
 proper spot behind the shoulder. He went a few 
 paces, and came down on his knees. I stepped up in 
 front to his head, and brained him with the left barrel, 
 
THE BUFFALO AND THE BISON. 219 
 
 the ball passing right through skull and brain, and 
 into the vertebrae of the neck. He was in splendid 
 condition ; and as his limbs remained quivering, the 
 Mussulman shikarees soon made him out to be alive 
 enough to hullal-kur, and make him fit to be eaten. 
 I now went to look for the rest of the herd, but 
 could not find them ; and returning to the last killed 
 bull, found a lot of the people, some of whom had 
 been left to bring in the head and skin of the one 
 first killed. They reported that the Luckumpore 
 patail had sworn that this was his buffalo, and would 
 not let them touch it. So here the murder was 
 out, and this brute was the identical one which had 
 got loose. The fact is, that the villagers in these 
 jungles let their cows breed with the wild bulls, so 
 that in after life the young ones are well inclined to 
 throw off the yoke at any time when they may have 
 an opportunity. 
 
 The skin of the wild buffalo is of great thickness. 
 He is wonderfully active for a large animal ; and as 
 the ground he lives in is well adapted for his short 
 limbs and great strength, very few horses can follow 
 him over it. I once galloped after a bull for three 
 miles, with a double carbine, in hopes of inducing 
 him to stop, so that I could get a shot; but I 
 could not get ahead of him, and had nearly come 
 to grief several times, when too close to be 
 pleasant. 
 
 I have known instances of European shikarees 
 
220 WILD SPORTS OF IXDIA. 
 
 being chased by wild buffaloes — not single bulls — 
 after they had been fired at ; but I have never had 
 it occur to myself. I believe that such cases are 
 very rare. The solitary bull is, no doubt, a dan- 
 gerous animal, like the wild elephant and bison, 
 when turned out of the herd : but none of these 
 animals, nor any others in the jungles, can stand 
 before a heavy rifle, properly loaded and skilfully 
 used. 
 
 The bison is so very similar in habits to the 
 buffalo, and the shikaring him is so much the same, 
 that it would be only a tedious repetition to give an 
 account of him — except in those few particulars in 
 which he differs from the buffalo. 
 
 I think that the chief peculiarity of the bison is 
 his great shyness and fear of man, compared with 
 the buffalo. His scent is very keen ; and it requires 
 all a hunter's cunning and knowledge of woodcraft 
 to get near a herd in jungles where they have been 
 fired at. Unless they are lying down, they are very 
 wary. The single bull, in some parts of Western 
 and Southern India, is a very formidable animal ; 
 and I have heard officers who had shot them in the 
 Courg country state, that the native shikarees of 
 Courg, who are not at all afraid of the wild elephant, 
 are very cautious when near a single bull bison. 
 They have been killed there, as I have been posi- 
 tively and credibly informed, of the great height of 
 twenty-two hands. The largest I have myself killed 
 
THE BUFFALO AND THE BISON. 221 
 
 was about eighteen Lands or six feet at the shoulder, 
 measured as you would a horse : but it is difficult, 
 when the animal is dead, to measure very accurately. 
 The best way is this : drive one stake into the ground 
 at the hoof of his fore-leg, and another close to the 
 withers ; then a measuring-tape, with the inches and 
 feet marked, will denote pretty well his exact height. 
 The bison, on the whole, stands a good deal higher 
 than the buffalo ; but he is not larger round the 
 girth, nor is he so massive an animal. His horns 
 are not to be compared in size to those of a buffalo. 
 He has, however, a more blood-like appearance. In 
 short, he is of the Bos kind ; and in most parts of 
 India where he is found, is called by the natives 
 Urna ; and in the Wynaud forest, Katee. The buf- 
 falo is, of course, the Bululus, and is called by the 
 natives Bund Binsa, in contradistinction to the tame 
 buffalo, which is termed Binsa. 
 
 The best spot to shoot both is midway between 
 the top of the withers and the bottom of the girth, 
 over the heart. The shot is commonly spoken of, 
 by sportsmen' here, as the shot behind the shoulder, 
 and is almost always fatal. If the animal is standing 
 side on to you, and you shoot with proper charges, 
 the ball perforates the lungs, which are very large. 
 They become gorged with blood, and in a very short 
 time, if not immediately, the animal sinks. I have 
 thought it of much consequence to point out the 
 most deadly spots to shoot at, both out of mercy to 
 
222 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 the animal and for the satisfaction of the hunter. I 
 know how long it was before I myself discovered all 
 these things : and we have no authority to be cruel 
 even to a tiger, for he but follows his own nature 
 when he kills. 
 
223 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 Deer: how to shoot them- — Neelgai, or Blue Cattle — Sambur, or 
 Red Deer — Weapons: Rifles, &c. — The Cheetah, or Hunting 
 Leopard — The Antelope — The Ibex — Native Hunters — . 
 Clothing — Directions for hunting in the Jungle — Shooting 
 Wild Animals not really cruel — Revolvers — The Wild Dog. 
 
 I hate now to describe the different kind of deer 
 met with in the different jungles in which I have 
 hunted in India. My experience as a hunter in 
 Bengal and Hindoostan was very brief, and was 
 gained between the years 1834 and 1837. I was 
 quite a novice in the art, and used to blaze away, 
 like most youngsters, right into a herd of sambur, 
 and be very much astonished that I did not find any- 
 thing drop. This was in^the heavy jungles west from 
 Chunar, at Seepteesgur, and at other places, the names 
 of which I do not remember, between the Ganges 
 and the Sone. It was here that I saw my first 
 tiger, as I was carelessly walking at dawn of day 
 some way behind my shikaree, who had both my 
 rifle and gun on his shoulders. I had been sitting up 
 all night to shoot this tiger, and had, of course, seen 
 
224 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 nothing of him. I never was guilty of sitting up but 
 once more, and that was over a buffalo killed close to 
 my camp, and again I did not see the tiger ; in fact, 
 it is a most unsatisfactory thing to do, and those who 
 have constantly sat up have told me that they have 
 very rarely bagged anything. 
 
 The common ways of shooting all kinds of deer, 
 except the antelope, in India, are to track them in the 
 jungle and stalk them ; or to have them beaten up to 
 you ; or to wait for them morning and evening at the 
 places where they are accustomed to drink. The 
 latter is a very good plan, in parts where there is a 
 great scarcity of water, and when there is great 
 plenty of any peculiar kind of fruit or berry of which 
 the deer are fond; otherwise, the scarcity of water 
 will send them to other parts. But if they do stay, 
 it is a capital way of securing them to hide yourself 
 either in a hole, or behind bushes, in the evening or 
 early morning, and to wait for their approach. You 
 get your shot from a rest ; and when you are not ex- 
 cited by following them up, it should be a very steadv 
 and deadly one. 
 
 The largest of the deer kind, although they may 
 perhaps be more correctly included in the bovina 
 genus, are the Neelgai, or Blue Cattle. The male is 
 very nearly blue, with short, almost upright horns, 
 growing like those of cattle, on a bone. He stands 
 very high — from fourteen hands to fifteen hands — 
 and has the bulky body of cattle with the light legs 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 225 
 
 of deer. He has a tuft of hair depending in front 
 from his throat, and his tail is like that of a bull, 
 though much shorter. The females are of a light 
 brown colour, and have short hair, and are not 
 so tall nor so bulky as the male. Up to two or three 
 years old, their flesh is capital for steaks ; but the 
 tongue and marrow-bones are the choice parts. 
 Neelgai are found generally throughout the jungles 
 of India, and are very plentiful in the Deccan. 
 They are difficult of approach and wild, their great 
 height enabling them to see at long distances. They 
 are constantly found hi the grain, but they also 
 inhabit large grass rumnahs. 
 
 If you can find them, which is very rare, in 
 tolerably good ground, they are to be killed with the 
 spear off horseback ; but the horse must be a very 
 fast one. The plan is to go at them as hard as your 
 horse can lay legs to the ground, in order to blow 
 them, if possible, 1 in the first half-mile. Of course, if 
 the ground is full of ravines and jungle, you cannot 
 do this. In the Deccan, it is very rare to find them 
 at any distance from this bad ground; but in the 
 Nagpore country yon may, and they have been 
 speared there. 
 
 The next in size to the neelgai, and a much more 
 handsome animal, being altogether a forest ranger, is 
 the Sambur, erroneously called the Elk of India. He 
 is the Red Deer. The male has a fine head of horns, 
 according to his age, and sheds them every year. 
 
 15 
 
226 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 They are not palmated, but antlers ; nor have they 
 many tines. Age appears to increase their size and 
 weight ; and an old stag will have a pair of horns at 
 least four feet or more in length, from the base to the 
 tip, and two and a half inches in diameter, near the 
 head. Close to the base there is one branch, and 
 then the horn divides into two equal branches, within 
 a foot or so of the tips ; it is very massive and 
 powerful. The hair of the body is of a coarse brown 
 colour, the ears are large and broad, and the 
 tail short and well furnished with hair. This animal 
 is not so tall as the neelgai : but a full-grown buck 
 is very large and powerful, standing fourteen hands 
 one inch, or more, high, and is a load for a dozen 
 strong men to carry. I should think he weighed 
 five or six hundredweight. The does are smaller, 
 and herd together in numbers ranging from five 
 to twenty -five, though so many as the latter are 
 rarely seen. They are fond of jungles where there 
 are rocks and mountains. In the hot weather the male 
 almost always lies up in very high ground, and you 
 will find his large footmark and track in almost inac- 
 cessible places. The tiger, who knows this peculiarity 
 in the sambur, waylays and kills him there, dropping 
 down over a rock upon him. The old stag is rarely 
 found by man, owing to this habit of lying up in high 
 places among rocks, behind which he looks down 
 upon the hunter. Only the experienced eye of the 
 latter can detect his branching antlers over the edge 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 227 
 
 of the rock, behind which his body is concealed. The 
 hunter knows that it is of no use to aim below 
 the antlers, because the rock shields the bodj-. So 
 he is obliged to rouse him and get a running shot ; 
 or if he has patience, he may leave a man, as a mark, 
 at the foot of the hill a srood distance from the sta<r, 
 and having ascended the hill himself, at half a mile 
 off, may come down from above on the animal. He 
 should, however, be acquainted with the ungle and 
 hills, or he will scarcely succeed. The sambur is 
 very wary. When he comes down to drink, he 
 is much later than all the other deer, and rarely 
 comes before it is dark. He likes a mountain jungle 
 with a river running through it. I have never seen 
 one of these large stags attempt to charge, either 
 before or after being wounded ; but I have been told 
 that under some circumstances they do so. They 
 are not very fast, and if you could only find them on 
 the plain, a very moderately good horse could take 
 you up to them. I have speared some which had been 
 only slightly wounded with rifle, in jungly ground. 
 
 In forests inhabited by sambur you will find most 
 of the smaller kind of deer, the Paharee, the Kakur, 
 or barking deer, the Bekree, or jungle-sheep, the 
 moos-deer, and the spotted deer. Spotted deer are 
 never found in jungles where there is a scarcity 
 of water. They are very impatient of thirst, and 
 wdien wounded or frightened plunge into the river. 
 They are very beautiful, with white spots on a brown 
 
 15 — 2 
 
228 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 border, and are a good deal like the fallow deer 
 of the parks in England in size and figure. The 
 horn is not palmated, but is an antler, and is large 
 for the head of the animal. When advanced in age, 
 they shed their horns annually. The skin, when well 
 cured, is almost as beautiful as a panther's. In ex- 
 tensive jungles watered by large rivers, like the 
 Mahore jungles near Hingolee, in the country of 
 Hydrabad, Deccan, in the great Wynaud, and else- 
 where, if you wound one of these deer, and gallop it 
 on horseback, in a chase of a mile you will bring 
 together five hundred others. They are wary, and 
 when they have been fired at are difficult to approach. 
 Like all the deer tribe, they are very tenacious 
 of life, requiring good shooting to bag them. The 
 best spots to aim at are in a line" from the withers 
 down to below the heart, and the shot goes merely 
 through the ribs. They get away to die, but are 
 rarely found by the hunter. The wolf and hyena, 
 and sometimes the tiger, track them by the blood, 
 and make their feast upon them. It is a sort of 
 shooting which, like sambur-shooting, is very attrac- 
 tive, and requires a great deal of hard work as well 
 as good shooting to be successful in it. 
 
 At the time of the year when the grass has gene- 
 rally been burned, about April, the leaf is continually 
 falling; and this makes silent walking in the jungles 
 almost impossible ; and hence the difficulty of pro- 
 curing large game in India by stalking. Until the 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 229 
 
 grass has been burned, which, is rarely before the end 
 of March, you cannot see game from the ground; 
 and after the grass has been burned, the old leaf 
 falls and covers the ground: the heat also, at this 
 time of the year, is very great. The Indian hunter 
 has, consequently, to contend against difficulties such 
 as no other hunter in the world has. Hunting, in 
 northern latitudes, may present hardships in con- 
 sequence of the rigorous cold, but exercise is calcu- 
 lated to remedy this; while no one but he who 
 follows game on foot under the scorching sun of 
 India, in the hot months, can imagine what labour it 
 is ! It is this which prevents many from following 
 the bent of their inclination, and becoming hunters ; 
 for it requires a strong frame and a determined will, 
 as well as a real love for the sport, to enable a man 
 to follow it for a course of years. Yet this is abso- 
 lutely required, not only to make a man a good 
 rifle-shot, but to give him the experience necessary 
 for becoming a successful hunter. There is always 
 something to learn — something new — of which he 
 was before ignorant. 
 
 The rifles are carried by your first native hunter, 
 or shikaree, and yourself. The gun is slung on the 
 shoulder of your second shikaree, who carries in his 
 right hand a strong spear, some six feet long. The 
 rifles that 1 have killed all my game with, as before 
 mentioned, were a double two-grooved rifle, made by 
 Wilkinson, of Pall Mall; the other, a polygrooved, 
 
230 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 made by Westley Richards. I hardly know which 
 was the best. Neither of them could be excelled in 
 carrying large charges of powder, and in shooting 
 true when so loaded, or in power of penetration. 
 The bullets, on no account, must be made so large as 
 to cause a difficulty in loading, when the barrels get 
 foul. They should be sewn in greased cloth, and 
 kept in a thin leather pouch in the shikar bag, and 
 not allowed to rub against one another, and against 
 everything else in the bag; for this rubs off the 
 grease, and injures the form of the bullet. I have 
 Minie bullet-moulds for my rifles ; but so long as the 
 spherical bullets go through and through large game, 
 I do not see the use of running the risk of shaking 
 the stock of the gun, and of extra recoil, by using 
 the heavier balls. No doubt the Minie does go with 
 more force. I have stated that each of us is fur- 
 nished with a shikar knife, in a spring-sheath. This 
 last has a steel button on it, which fits into a button- 
 hole, and the sheath is cased in the front of the 
 shikar jacket. It is thus ready to your hand, and 
 there is no fear of its falling out, and no unbucklino- 
 is required. The pattern is with Messrs. Wilkinson 
 and Co., Pall Mall. 
 
 I have mentioned before that the practice of shoot- 
 ing by night is commonly followed by the native 
 shikaree. He has the faculty of seeing in the dark 
 in a most wonderful manner ; and his rude weapons 
 do not permit of his shooting game at long distances. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 231 
 
 His natural Asiatic laziness also makes him like the 
 plan. If you, too, have stoicism sufficient to sit in 
 a hole near the water, 'with mosquitoes eating you, 
 try it. The game is very bold at night Many 
 instances have been told me by credible persons of 
 tigers having been fired at, and missed, owing to the 
 darkness, and again coining up to the bait or killed 
 animal. I never fired but two shots at night in my 
 life, both at one animal. The last was successful. 
 T went to a village in the Clianda district, called 
 Gunpoor, upon the kubbur, or report of tigers being 
 there. I took with me two young bullocks, to tie up 
 as baits ; over one of which I sat morning and even- 
 ing. On the second night, a villager, who had been 
 sitting up on a mechaun (that is, a platform, raised 
 from twelve to twenty feet above the ground in a 
 field, from which the watcher drives away the game 
 that comes to eat the grain), came and awakened me 
 about eleven o'clock, stating that a tiger had run into 
 and killed a deer in his field. 1 thought it very 
 unlikely, and was loth to get up : the more so that 
 the moon had only just risen. However, having put 
 a bit of clean cotton on the muzzle sight of my rifle, 
 I started with my shikarees to tbe spot. True 
 enough, there was a half-grown neelgai, as big as 
 a heifer, killed, and a considerable portion of it 
 eaten. Immediately I got some bundles of the cut 
 grain, which was in the field, and, with the help 
 of a bush, made a pretty good screen, got my 
 
232 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 mora, or light stool, from the tent, and made myself 
 comfortable. 
 
 The dead deer was not above seventy yards from 
 the mechaun, and my screen some thirty yards nearer 
 to the deer. Up in the mechaun there was an old 
 Gond woman, who was the owner of the field ; and 
 the man who had been sent to tell me was her 
 servant. He went up, and I told her not to talk or 
 make any noise. I had scarcely sat half an hour, 
 when the old woman began jabbering in the mechaun, 
 telling us, I conclude, that the tiger was coming, for 
 I do not understand the Gond language. In another 
 second, she threw a stone down from the mechaun, 
 and I distinctly heard the animal, whatever it was, 
 tearing the flesh of the deer. I put up my rifle, 
 taking the best aim I could, fired and missed. I had 
 seen sufficiently to make out that the animal was not 
 so large as a tiger, but thought it must be a panther. 
 I sat patiently, and only for another half-hour ; and 
 now that the moon was risen higher, I could see the 
 profile of the animal, while he had his fore-paws upon 
 the deer; and, aiming very steadily, I heard the 
 rifle-ball crash into the body. The animal rushed off', 
 roaring most lustily. I knew for certain now that it 
 was not a tiger. I must not forget to mention that 
 the old Gond woman talked just as hard this second 
 time as the first, and that the stone came down as 
 before, greatly to my disgust — as if we were likely 
 to go to sleep when sitting on the ground waiting for 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 233 
 
 a tiger ! I told the villagers to come down from the 
 mechaun, and take away the remainder of the deer 
 for the sake of the flesh, and went back to the tent 
 to bed. About three o'clock in the morning, just as 
 I was getting up to start for the place where one of 
 the heifers was tied as a bait for the tiger, I heard 
 an animal making a very extraordinary noise, like a 
 large cat mewing, and moving about the field where 
 the neelgai had been killed. I gave instructions to 
 my orderly, who could shoot pretty well, to take the 
 dogs at daylight, and as he had heard in which direc- 
 tion the wounded animal had gone, to go and recover 
 it. Thinking that it was a female panther, and that 
 this mewing creature was one of its young ones, I 
 started for the tied-up heifer. About sunrise, I heard 
 a shot, and the baying (of a large terrier, by name 
 Joe) in the jungle about a mile distant; I thought 
 that it was too late for the tiger to come, and said to 
 Mangkalee, " They have found the wounded panther, 
 and he'll kill the dogs :" so off we started for the spot. 
 When we came up, the orderly had found a large 
 male leopard — which was what I had wounded in the 
 night — but not before he had severely bitten one of 
 the dogs. The marks of the other leopard were 
 visible in the sand, and the pair had found themselves 
 strong enough to kill any deer in the jungle. 
 
 There is but one leopard in India, properly called 
 the Cheetah. It is tamed, and used for coursing 
 antelope ; and its speed is so great that it outstrides 
 
234 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 and catches it, though it is considered the fastest deer 
 in the world. I believe that fear Jias a good deal to 
 do with it ; and that the antelope's speed is paralysed 
 when he sees the leopard coming up to him. The 
 latter is taken to the ground with his hood on, in a 
 cart. When within a short distance of the ante- 
 lope, say a hundred yards or nearer, his hood is 
 taken off, and he sees the deer ; and in the space 
 of another two or three hundred yards — farther 
 than which the leopard scarcely ever runs — he has 
 tripped lip his quarry, and has his fangs fixed in his 
 throat. 
 
 The leopard stands some thirty-two inches high, 
 and is of the genus cards, not having the retractile 
 claw of the cat. He is much lighter made than the 
 panther, shows little fight against dogs, and is not com- 
 monly found in the jungles, because he lives much in 
 the lower part of large forest trees, where the female 
 brings forth her 3-oung, and preys upon the goat, 
 antelope, and all kinds of small deer, and also on 
 pea-fowl. The coursing of antelope with the hunting- 
 leopard is a pretty sport, and is much followed by the 
 wealthy natives of India : it used to be followed by 
 European officers also. The price of a well-broken 
 hunting cheetah is from one hundred and fifty to two 
 hundred and fifty rupees. 
 
 I think that I have now written of almost every 
 kind of game for the rifle and spear, except the 
 hyaena and wolf. The former takes a good horse 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 235 
 
 to catch him, and a good spearsinan to kill hirn. 
 The latter, unless gorged, it is almost impossible to 
 spear. 
 
 Of antelope-shooting, I must say a little. It re- 
 quires much patience, and good shooting. If you 
 shoot with heavy rifles, you will find it advisable to 
 have a tripod-rest with you. This can be made with 
 three light bamboos, fastened by iron pins at three 
 inches from the top, and three pieces of strong whip- 
 cord to allow the legs to open to a sufficient distance 
 to stand firm. When antelope are much fired at, they 
 will not let the hunter come within a hundred and 
 eighty or two hundred yards ; and though the mark 
 is not very small, the walking in the sun, and stalk- 
 ing, and stooping, make one more or less unsteady. 
 Some men get into a country-cart dragged by bul- 
 locks, and thus drive up near the herd ; but it is 
 rather a poaching way of shikaring. I generally use 
 a shooting horse, and ride him as near up to them 
 as possible, and then take my chance of a shot at the 
 black buck of the herd. His skin is very hand- 
 some, and his flesh good, if kept a couple of days or 
 more, which can be easily done at all seasons but the 
 very hottest. The secret of following antelope is to 
 move towards the head of the herd, which in this 
 way continually circles round you. By degrees you 
 get nearer and nearer. The power of shooting them 
 appears to be arrived at by some sportsmen, who 
 cannot shoot at deer in a jungle at all. I do not like 
 
236 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 the sport nearly so much as deer-stalking in the 
 forest, because it is much tamer. You see the animals 
 for miles, as they frequent extensive plains, and 
 almost always avoid the forest. 
 
 The obtaining a good shikaree is indeed a difficult 
 matter ; of the different castes or sects of natives, if 
 equally good in all other respects, a Mohammedan 
 should be preferred, because deer shot by you are 
 made eatable by all parties when he has hullal-kurd, 
 or cut the throats of them. None but low-caste men 
 will eat the flesh of animals, unless they have thus 
 had their throats cut by a Mussulman. The Moham- 
 medan is generally a courageous man, but then he is 
 not likely to be so cunning in woodcraft as one of the 
 inhabitants of the forest, who are almost always low- 
 caste men. The Bheels of Candeish are considered 
 the best trackers in India, but they will not take 
 service out of their own country. 
 
 My head shikaree, whose pluck and courage I have 
 never seen excelled, is a Mang, the lowest caste in 
 India, Unfortunately, like all his tribe, he is given 
 to drink. He has stood by me on numberless occa- 
 sions, and never having seen any animal make good 
 his charge, considers his master's rifle invincible. 
 But he is not a good tracker; at least nothing equal 
 to a Bheel. He cannot do more than just let off a 
 gun, though it were better that he could shoot : yet 
 I should not permit him to do so, except when 
 charged by any large animal, and after both of my 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 237 
 
 barrels had failed to stop or turn him ; and then only 
 if there was not time for him to give me the spare 
 rifle to use it myself. Mangkalee is a short, thick-set, 
 and powerful man, with rather a small, but pene- 
 trating eye. His sight is very keen, and at one time 
 no amount of work could daunt him. He is very 
 silent, hardly ever speaking until spoken to, except 
 when he has taken too much liquor ; and I always 
 detect him by his not being so taciturn as usual. He 
 has been some fourteen years in m}r service, and was 
 at first only a bullock-driver ; after that he became a 
 tent-pitcher, and lastly, head-shikaree. I taught him 
 myself. Nursoo, my other shikaree, was quite a lad 
 when I got him. He too is of a low caste, being a 
 Dher. He was very fond of shikar, and very plucky, 
 and has nearly got me into one or two scrapes by his 
 rashness. When I returned from England in 1857, 
 I found this man had been converted to Mohamme- 
 danism, and had enlisted as a sepoy in one of the 
 infantry regiments of my force ; thus spoiling a capital 
 shikaree to make a moderate soldier. However, there 
 was no help for it ; so I said nothing when he came 
 to pay his respects, looking as fat as possible — too fat 
 ever to shikar again. 
 
 The season of the year must regulate your clothing 
 both as to its texture and colour; and the peculiar 
 tint of the jungle you are going to shoot in, at the 
 time of year, must tell you what shade of colour to 
 dve the cloth, of which your shikar clothes are to 
 
238 WILD SPOKTS OF INDIA. 
 
 be made. The babool, which is a thorny tree with 
 a little yellow button-blossom, affords the best dye. 
 The bark is stripped off it, and boiled in an earthen 
 vessel, and then the addition of some of the bark of 
 the mango will give it the tinge required. This is 
 always an excellent dye, because it is permanent, and 
 of a neutral tint, something like the leaf, grass, and 
 ground, blended together. 
 
 The babool-bark dye is a dark brown ; the mango- 
 bark is nearly yellow ; and the two mixed can make 
 any dye desired. The marking-nut tree, called the 
 hecrakup, gives a darker dye than the babool, but it 
 is too dark when used alone, for any season or jungle. 
 Enough light cotton cloth, if for the hot weather shoot- 
 ing, to make clothes for yourself and two shikarees, is 
 put into the vessel. A coarser, close-woven cotton 
 cloth, impervious to the spear-grass, which is very 
 troublesome in some jungles, and not got rid of till 
 the grass is burnt, is "to be procured, if possible. It 
 is. called charsoutee, that is, a four-thread woven 
 cloth, and is the best for the cold weather, and until 
 the end of February. 
 
 The Neilgherry Hills, or Blue Mountains — "the 
 beautiful, the blue," as Byron sang of the sea, may 
 be sung also of those hills — are in the Madras Pre- 
 sidency, and rise abruptly from the great Wynaud 
 forest. Their height is from 6,500 to 7,800 feet 
 above the sea, and they can fairly be considered to 
 possess as fine a climate as there is in the world. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 239 
 
 Their extreme length — for after all they are only 
 isolated hills — is about thirty-seven miles, and their 
 breadth some twenty-seven. The shikar on them is 
 very good, consisting of elephants (though they are 
 rare, and only found in a few places), bison, tigers, 
 panthers, bears, a good many sambur, some of the 
 smaller deer — as the bekree, or jungle sheep, jungle 
 fowl, woodcock, and, in the season, the solitary and 
 full snipe. But the shikar most attractive to the 
 hunter from the plains, who has found and killed all 
 the other large game, is the ibex-shooting, which he 
 has never enjoyed elsewhere. This animal is similar 
 to a large smooth-haired goat, and inhabits the 
 wildest and most inaccessible rocks and chasms, 
 generally near the edges of the Neilgherries. The 
 buck is nearly black, and has horns curved back 
 over his neck, about a foot long and some three 
 inches in diameter at the base. He is a large animal, 
 standing three feet nine inches at the shoulder, and 
 is very strongly made, his foot being as large as 
 your doubled fist. But in spite of his bulk, he will, 
 when alarmed, go at great speed, bounding like a 
 ball from rock to rock, and over chasms thirty feet 
 broad and hundreds of feet deep. The does are not 
 nearly so large, and are of a much less heavy build, 
 and of lighter colour. They are very wary and 
 difficult of approach, except by chance, or during 
 rainy and stormy weather, when they come down 
 from their almost inaccessible peaks to the sholahs, 
 
240 WILD SPORTS OF EsDIA. 
 
 or woods, for shelter. They are sometimes driven 
 out of these, and shot like any other deer. 
 
 Thei-e is a gigantic rock which frowns over the 
 Goodaloor pass, which is the pass you descend to 
 Manintoddy and Cannanore from Ootacamund, the 
 capital station of the Neilgherries. This rock, which 
 I suppose must have a perpendicular scarp of two 
 thousand feet, is the favourite resort of ibex; or 
 rather, the upper part of it is, as well as the deep 
 ravines which run in between that part and the 
 sholahs towards the hills. I was nearly at the top 
 of this one day, and saw a splendid old black buck 
 ibex browsing nearly perpendicularly below me, I 
 should think nine hundred feet. I had with me a 
 heavy single rifle, and a double-barrelled ball gun ; 
 and resting the former on the rock along which 
 I lay, I fired, and hit him over the loins, but did 
 not break any bones. He staggered forward, and 
 ascended the ridge of hills between him and the 
 low country; on his right was the scarped rock, 
 which rose above the village of Goodaloor. I then 
 fired with the smooth-bore barrels, hitting only with 
 the first. We lost sight of him almost immediately, 
 and as he took his way over the peak opposite us, I 
 stripped one of my shikarees of the shikar bags, and 
 making him as light as possible, gave him instruc- 
 tions to follow and keep sight of the quarry, while 
 the other man and I followed with the rifle and 
 gun. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 241 
 
 We came to a place which appeared impracticable, 
 and looking down from it, I saw the shikaree, who 
 was some fifty yards below, anxiously eyeing the 
 chasm immediately under him, and it struck me at 
 the time that he could see the ibex ; but on my 
 shouting out to him to know how he got down there, 
 after he had replied, he added that he had lost the 
 ibex. I had to take off my shoes and stockings, and let 
 myself down to the next ledge of rock by my hands, 
 and then to take the.rifle and gun down and place the 
 foot of the shikaree on a jutting portion of the rock : 
 for the best of these men, not having the muscular 
 power of the European, cannot follow him in difficult 
 sports like these. There was at that time — I speak 
 of 1845 — a very bad system common in these hills, 
 of offering presents, often as much as ten rupees, 
 for the recovery of a wounded ibex, so valuable was 
 it considered ; and thus the native hunters scarcely 
 ever took the trouble to recover wounded game at 
 once. I immediately saw that this was the dodge 
 now to be practised. The shikarees were brothers. 
 I told them my opinion of their plot, and I went on 
 looking for the animal until I found myself nearly 
 down at Goodaloor ; and then I returned by the road 
 of the ghat, for it was night. 
 
 The next morning, taking out my elephant-shi- 
 karee, the famous Hoorcha,my three jungle-trackers, 
 koormbins — for I was going down to Nellimbore on 
 an elephant-shooting trip — and the two shikarees I 
 
 16 
 
242 WILD SPOETS OF INDIA. 
 
 had out the evening before, I again went to look 
 for the ibex. I sent the brother shikarees and two 
 koormbins to the spot near which I was sure the 
 animal was dead, and Hoorcha and I went below. 
 As I supposed, when they found they would get no 
 present, they discovered the ibex dead, and shouted 
 to us that it was so. I replied, " Cut off the head, 
 and push the body off the rock." And down it came 
 bounding from peak to peak towards us, like a huge 
 black ball. I shot two more on other days. One 
 fell over into the low country, at a point where the 
 great Wynaud jungle, with its trees from eighty to a 
 hundred feet high, looked like a velvet lawn below 
 us. The other I lost in a fog 1 , after breaking a 
 hind and a fore leg. He got upon the edge of a 
 hill, and slid down out of my sight into the forest 
 below. 
 
 These animals are very tenacious of life, and you 
 must not only be a very good rifle-shot to be suc- 
 cessful in killing them, but you must have the foot 
 and eye of a mountaineer to follow them. Do not 
 attempt it, unless you have a steady eye that can 
 look down a precipice without becoming giddy, and 
 an elastic foot accustomed to step on the precipice 
 edge : for one trip or false step, or one misjudged 
 spring, will send you into eternity. I once saw a 
 herd of about sixty ibex — and a beautiful sight it 
 was — on the hills near Bandytappal, on the Sispurah 
 road. They were browsing on the hill-side. It was 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 243 
 
 an unusually large number to herd together. I fol- 
 lowed them unsuccessfully for the better part of the 
 day, from noon till dewy eve ; and it was then that 
 the black male of the herd nearly ran against me, in 
 a thick fog such as is only seen and felt on the 
 mountains. Poor beast ! He was the one whose 
 limbs I broke, and who was eventually lost. 
 
 I must in this place endeavour to redeem my 
 brother sportsmen and myself from the charge of 
 cruelty, a charge not uncommonly made, I believe 
 without thought, and in ignorance. I must first 
 enlist my reader's sympathies, and get him, or her, 
 to acknowledge that the hunter in India, who runs 
 risks, and meets with accidents such as I have 
 described in these papers, leads no life of ease or 
 indolence ; but, on the contrary, that his life is one 
 of Severe toil, labour, and danger. The feeling that 
 he is doing some good in his generation, and leading 
 not quite a useless life, must repay him for his 
 exertions ; for I fear that gratitude among the natives 
 in India is too like what it is in colder climates, 
 and what Rochefoucault describes " as a lively sense 
 of favours to come." Now, for his own protection, 
 it is necessary that the hunter should be able to use 
 his rifle well, both at animals standing or moving, 
 and whether they are going from him, or passing or 
 attacking him. Tigers, panthers, bears, bison, &c, 
 and the other feroces ferce, or savage wild animals, 
 do not abound in sufficient numbers to give him the 
 
 16—2 
 
244 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 necessary practice for becoming so good a shot as 
 to make certain of hitting them at all when in jungle, 
 much less of hitting them in parts of the body where 
 the shot will disable, stop, or kill. The hunter, 
 therefore, fires at deer, of which, as before mentioned, 
 there are many varieties, as practice for his rifle. 
 This is also necessary to keep his native hunters, or 
 shikarees, in condition to stand severe labour. 
 Besides, the eating the flesh of the game killed 
 makes them keen. A good shikaree will rarely 
 remain in the service of a man who cannot kill 
 his game. I trust I have logically proved that 
 shooting deer and the fauna is not cruel. It can only 
 be considered so, when a very great and wanton 
 destruction of life is caused, or where they are fired 
 at with shot. This is done heedlessly, no doubt, and 
 with a desire to bag game at all hazards ; but I hope 
 my readers will agree with me that it is not a 
 legitimate way of killing deer, and that it would be 
 far better to fire away with ball until practice taught 
 a man how to shoot, than to obtain deer by what 
 may be considered the weapon and missile that ought 
 to be employed for hares and partridges. Again, 
 the tying up calves or goats as a bait for tigers or 
 panthers appears at first blush to be cruel ; but it 
 must be taken into consideration, that these animals 
 will not take a dead bait, that they are not scavengers 
 like hyenas or jackals, and that by sacrificing the 
 life of the bullock or goat, you shoot the tiger or 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 245 
 
 panther that has killed, and will kill, hundreds and 
 hundreds of bullocks and goats : or perhaps, in the 
 case of man-eaters or man-slayers, hundreds of men, 
 women, and children. 
 
 The bullock, being a very cold-blooded animal, 
 is not under much alarm when tied up, as was shown 
 in the chapter on the man-eaters. He may be in 
 the paws and jaws of a tiger, and if he escapes, his 
 nerves are not much the worse. He will eat grass 
 and drink water immediately after being released, 
 with sundry holes in his throat and claw-wounds in 
 his body. 
 
 One of the great secrets of success in stalking 
 game in the jungles is to know how to walk silently, 
 both in putting the foot on the ground, and in not 
 rustling the bushes, branches, or grass. The pace to 
 walk at must be regulated by many circumstances ; 
 and though perfection in, and thorough knowledge 
 of, these things is only to be acquired after much 
 experience and years of practice, I will endeavour 
 to put upon paper a few maxims, as a guide to the 
 young hunter. 
 
 The kind of foot which will fall most silently on 
 the ground must be given by God ; for it must be 
 naturally arched in the instep, and have its corre- 
 sponding concave in the sole. Only this formation 
 of foot will allow of a silent and firm tread, and will 
 give the elasticity and strength necessary to support 
 the weight of the body, through a long day's toil, 
 
246 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 without jarring the limbs above it, or wearying the 
 muscles and tendons which have to move it. A foot 
 of this form is also less liable to bruises from stones 
 and hard ground. 
 
 The usual pace of the hunter — who has to keep 
 his eyes continually on the look-out, not only for the 
 game that he is in search of or is following, but for 
 the track of animals on the ground that he moves 
 over ; besides having to take care not to put his foot 
 on a dry leaf, or stick, or stone, for the sound would 
 frighten the game — will not be much more than two 
 and a half miles an hour : but if the hunter has to 
 intercept or go round his game, he may have to go 
 three times that pace. Very few men, however, 
 have their lungs in such order, in this trying climate, 
 as to enable them to run any distance and to be 
 steady enough to shoot accurately afterwards. You 
 must never appear suddenly and abruptly over the 
 top of a hill or rising ground, so as to show yourself 
 in motion to any game that may be below you. 
 The same rule refers to suddenly coming round 
 angles of jungles, or from the shelter of trees into 
 the open glade. Climbing up out of ravines and 
 water-courses, or descending into them, must be done 
 with like caution. Your step must be that of the 
 velvet-footed tiger, your foe. Look at him walk and 
 crouch in a jungle. Listen to him : you cannot hear 
 his tread, though you may almost feel his breath in 
 your face. You cannot hear him, though there is 
 
HISCEIiANEOUS. 247 
 
 only a bush between you ; and though your ear is 
 aching with tension, it can make out only the sound 
 of his nostril inhaling, as he is scenting the ground 
 within a few feet of you. 
 
 This actually occurred to me in the year 1838, 
 when I was a very inexperienced shikaree. A tiger 
 had killed a large buffalo that had been picketed for 
 him ; and a friend of mine, who was on an elephant, 
 went down the jungle to beat him up. My elephant 
 had gone with my native shikaree to the other 
 ground ; and as I was walking between the slain 
 buffalo and a ridge of a hill from which I hoped to 
 see the tiger better, I became all at once aware of 
 his presence, by hearing him draw in his breath 
 to scent me. The bush in front of me was so 
 thick that I could not see the animal. The vil- 
 lager with me became suddenly the picture of 
 horror, and he was on the point of running, when 
 I seized him by the neck, and put him under my 
 knee. 
 
 I had my forefinger and the next finger on the two 
 triggers of my double rifle, which I kept to my 
 shoulder, expecting the tiger every moment to make 
 his spring. This had lasted for perhaps a minute — 
 I thought it appeared the longest minute I ever 
 knew — when, I may almost say, I felt the tiger's hot 
 breath receding from my face ; and, to my relief, 
 almost directly after I heard him splashing and 
 growling in the little river below. Nothing but 
 
248 WILD SPOETS OF INDIA. 
 
 having faced him, with eyes rigidly fixed upon the 
 spot where he was, saved us ; for though I could 
 not see the tiger, I have no doubt that his eye, being 
 accustomed to the darkness of night and gloom, was 
 fixed on us, and could see us well. One step to run, 
 or a sudden movement, would have caused the de- 
 struction of one or both of us. The instant I felt 
 the animal had passed ou, we scrambled up the hill- 
 side ; but though I saw him plainly, he was eighty 
 yards off, and too far to fire at with any certainty. 
 We never found him again, for he was not gorged, 
 the buffalo having only just been killed ; and in the 
 cool of the morning he took himself clear off. 
 
 But to return from this digression to the subject 
 of picking your steps in the forest. It will take a 
 good deal of experience to teach you which are 
 thorny bushes and which are harmless. You must 
 never attempt to rush through the former when the 
 thorns are catching your clothes, because it will 
 cause much noise. A native, who is nearly naked 
 from his waist upwards, is necessarily very careful ; 
 and though you have clothes on, you must imitate 
 him. You will come, here and there, to open glades 
 in the forest, usually caused by rain-water lodging 
 there, and making the ground too wet for the growth 
 of trees or bushes. If the water still covers any part 
 of them, they are called jheels. Here you must walk 
 warily, for the dry parts being covered, at certain 
 seasons of the year, with grass, hold panthers, deer, 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 249 
 
 and hog : the former remaining in them in order to 
 prey upon the latter. 
 
 If you have reason to suppose, from the tracks or 
 marks, that game is in the grass, you can either beat 
 it out or walk quietly through it ; but, unless it is a 
 tavourite spot for game to lie in, on entering this 
 open glade you had better go round the edge, and 
 under the shade of the forest jungle, instead of walk- 
 ing down the middle ; and for this reason : — If there 
 is any game about to enter a glade, or jheel, or grass- 
 bheer, or any open place, unless it has been frightened 
 and is thus about to go at speed across it, it will 
 generally pause, and look all round from the edge 
 of the forest, and will inevitably see you in the 
 middle of the open : whereas, had you been walking 
 near the edge, or within shelter of the bushes or trees, 
 you could have concealed yourself, or have stationed 
 yourself under screen of the wood, near the point at 
 which the deer or game was about to cross. I do not 
 remember whether I have told you to caution your 
 native shikarees, and any others with you, to sink 
 gradually and quietly to the ground, directly game 
 is seen by you or them. On no account whatever is 
 a word to be spoken, except on the occasion to be 
 noted below. The open hand pointed in the direction 
 of the animal, and elevated higher than the shoulder 
 if it be far off, or depressed according to the actual 
 distance, is all that is required. If the game is 
 moving from you, the hand is gently moved from the 
 
250 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 man towards the animal ; if coming towards you, the 
 hand should denote it by being drawn in from its 
 extended position towards the body. 
 
 The only occasion when your native hunter should 
 speak, even with the lowest whisper in your ear, is 
 when a tiger or other animal of the genus ferox is 
 crouched, and you, without seeing him, are just walk- 
 ing on the top of him. My shikaree, Mangkalee, on 
 these occasions even, does not speak, but gives me a 
 pull of the left sleeve of my coat from behind. As I 
 know the man well, the quickness or slowness of this 
 touch generally denotes pretty accurately whether 
 the tiger is close or not, and whether the danger is 
 imminent or otherwise. 
 
 I have said before, but I cannot too often or too 
 strongly impress it on your memory, that you should 
 make the shikaree, who carries your spare rifle or 
 gun, walk close behind you in your footsteps, and the 
 second shikaree, or gun-carrier, in his. Numberless 
 accidents have happened from men having emptied 
 their rifles ; and before they could get hold of their 
 spare ones, they have been in the grasp of the tiger, 
 panther, or bear, or been gored by the bison or 
 buffalo, or been caught by the trunk of the wild 
 elephant and trampled into the earth. With all 
 your constant warning, you will find this a very 
 difficult lesson to teach a native. To make it easier, 
 do not press on too fast, as one is very apt to do 
 when excited, and when game is on foot and moving 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 251 
 
 out of one's reach. The native himself, when lead- 
 ing the way, generally goes too fast (unless he is a 
 shikaree), as he is very lightly clad, and is in the 
 habit of moving in the jungles, and is generally in 
 first-rate condition. 
 
 I have mentioned the weapons to which I have 
 been always accustomed ; but when in England, in 
 1857, I had made, to order, a revolving rifle and 
 pair of pistols, by Adams, of the London Armoury 
 Company. The bore is thirty-seven ; but their 
 bullets, being conical, weigh about three-quarters of 
 an ounce. They are five-chambered, and can be 
 loaded rapidly. 
 
 It is very possible that, had I commenced with a 
 rifle like this, I should have preferred it to a double- 
 barrelled rifle, from the advantage of its five shots. 
 But though I can shoot with it at stationary objects 
 so accurately as constantly to kill duck and other 
 birds from eighty to a hundred yards, the pulling the 
 trigger is so very different from the quick, double 
 rifle trigger, that I have very rarely succeeded in 
 hitting any animal running. Having to pull it also 
 on full-cock, after every discharge, does away with 
 the possibility of ready firing. You would not have 
 time to take it from the shoulder and cock it, if 
 charged by an animal from a short distance. It shoots 
 with great force. I have killed spotted and other 
 deer with it, from a hundred and forty to a hundred 
 and sixty paces— the ball passing through them: and 
 
252 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 as a trial of its perforating powers, I fired it through 
 the frontal hones of the head of a full-grown male 
 wild buffalo, which I had cut off and brought in. 
 The bullet passed through the brain to the depth of 
 six inches. The skull of this animal, and of the 
 bison, is considered by many sportsmen to be im- 
 penetrable to the smooth-bore bullet. I have killed 
 both kinds by shots below the eyes, with both the 
 Wilkinson and Westley Richards rifles. The revolv- 
 ing rifle — if it could be made with a large bore, and 
 with some arrangement, such as a shield on the left 
 side of the revolving breech, to keep the very sharp 
 report from the ear of the shooter — would be a very 
 valuable weapon. 
 
 I was recommended to use three-quarters of a 
 drachm of powder ; but I lowered the sights, and 
 now use a drachm. The weapon that would carry 
 a conical ball of an ounce and a half weight, and a 
 drachm and three-quarters of the best powder, would 
 be very formidable. Great care, however, must be 
 taken to have the proper fitting caps ; for if they are 
 the least too thick, the chambers will not revolve; 
 if the least too loose, the caps are liable to come off ; 
 and if too tight to open, they fall off, and another 
 chamber, besides the one you are expecting to fire, 
 may be ignited. Of course, such carelessness recoils 
 on the head of the shooter. 
 
 The pistols of similar bore, and by the same maker, 
 are no doubt very fine weapons : and I am happy to 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 253 
 
 bear testimony to the very accurate boring, the finish, 
 and, what is of chief consequence, the great penetrat- 
 ing powers, of all these weapons. 
 
 There are still some kinds of game which I have 
 not mentioned : one, the Rhinoceros, so common in 
 Africa, is met with only very rarely in India. It is 
 to be found in the Terai forests at the foot of the 
 Nepaul mountains, and also in the Raj Mahal hills, 
 two hundred miles only distant from Calcutta. I 
 have never seen him in his native jungles : but one 
 that had been caught in the Rungpore country — 
 I suppose in a pit — was for sale in Calcutta in 
 1839. 
 
 The wild Dog, or Dhole, as he is called, is not 
 common. I have twice only found them, and both 
 times in the Chandah district of Nagpore. Once, 
 after I had been shooting wild duck at a large tank, 
 in a very dense jungle, I left for the purpose of wait- 
 ing for large game at drinking time, in the evening, 
 at another tank. Just as I came to it, I saw some 
 eight wild dogs, who had that moment run into and 
 killed a large wild sow. One had his muzzle in the 
 entrails of the hog, and I hit him with a rifle-ball, 
 at about ninety yards off. I followed up, and got 
 another very long shot, and eventually lost the 
 wounded dog in the thick jungle. I shot and bagged 
 one last year in the same district: he was a pup. 
 These two packs differed very much from each other, 
 though found not above sixty miles apart, and in the 
 
254 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 same district — the first in the month of March, the 
 second in the month of May. The first were long, 
 very lean, almost red dogs, standing, I should think, 
 about twenty-two inches high, and with short hair. 
 The last were more like wolves, and were of a 
 yellow colour with black muzzles, and marks down 
 the neck and back, one being a very handsome 
 brute. They had rather rough hair. They run down 
 and live upon the largest deer in the jungle, and, 
 according to the accounts of native hunters, they 
 adopt the following plan. They run by nose ; and 
 having made themselves acquainted with the pre- 
 sence of sambur or other deer in the valley or jheel 
 of the jungle, they separate, and lie in wait at the 
 different passes from the ghat, crouching on the high 
 ground, above the paths taken by the deer. One or 
 two of the pack then go down and rouse the sambur, 
 who rushes up-hill by one of the many paths. 
 
 The dog who lies in waiting springs at his victim, 
 and fixes to his throat, and the others soon run into 
 him. The sambur or elk, and the large neelgai, are 
 very formidable opponents to a dog, and constantly 
 kill him with a single blow of the fore foot, splitting 
 his skull open: nor indeed can any but large and 
 powerful dogs, in packs, run into and kill either of 
 these kind of deer, which are twice as heavy and 
 powerful as the red deer of Scotland. The natives 
 have got an idea that these wild dogs attack and kill 
 tigers, which is not at all probable. The idea has 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 255 
 
 arisen from the fact of tigers that were known to be 
 in certain jungles before the wild dogs came, leaving 
 it after their arrival. This is accounted for by the 
 game being so much alarmed at the presence of the 
 wild dogs, and becoming so watchful from being con- 
 stantly hunted by them, that the tigers find out that 
 they cannot fall upon them. They thus leave that # 
 part of the jungle for some other where the deer 
 have not been so much scared. 
 
 I will endeavour to give some instructions as to 
 beating jungles for game; though experience, and a 
 very long one, is the only thing that can make a man 
 at all perfect in this matter, and even with that of 
 many years the hunter is foiled by the wild animal, 
 who, it must be remembered, is on his native ground, 
 with all the faculties given him by his Creator, either 
 to defend himself against his enemy, man, or to avoid 
 and baffle him in the pursuit. 
 
 On reaching the jungle you purpose to shoot in, 
 let the first day be passed in obtaining personally 
 every information with reference to the animals 
 that inhabit it. Get round you the best village shi- 
 karees, or men of that village or the neighbouring 
 villages, give them some tobacco, speak to them 
 kindly, and with your own shikarees, and those of 
 the villages, have a conversation regarding the shikar, 
 or game. In many cases these villagers, as they 
 obtain rewards from Government (small as they are) 
 for the destruction of wild animals, would rather that 
 
256 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 you should not kill the game, unless they are deer, hog, 
 or game for which there is no reward, and which 
 they are glad to have killed, that they may obtain 
 some of the flesh. 
 
 Promise the amount of the Government reward to 
 the village shikarees, who assist you in killing tiger?, 
 bears, or panthers, and pay these into their own 
 hands, and not through any of your servants. 
 
 Whether you determine to stalk your game silently 
 or to beat for it, and drive either quietly or with 
 noise, the first day will be well spent in silently 
 reconnoitering the ground, especially that part of it 
 you intend shooting over. 
 
 You must find out the tracks of the game, and to 
 what places these lead ; whether to other jungles, or 
 parts of the jungle, when driven from there; whether 
 to feeding-ground or to water, sandy beds of nullahs 
 (dry water-courses), the edges of tanks (lakes) or 
 swamps. The rocks and caves must all be carefully 
 examined, as well as paths, or deer-runs. 
 
 There are numerous signs known to the old hunter, 
 such as the barking of certain trees stripped by the 
 deer, the berries shaken off the branches by the bears, 
 the bones of animals killed by tigers or panthers, the 
 probing of soft banks by the wild elephants' tusks, 
 the cropping of grains by the deer, and many others, 
 apparent only to the skilful eye. The knowledge of 
 this is irrespective of killing game as a science, 
 necessary to be learnt by the young hunter who 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 257 
 
 aspires to the title of a shikaree. What is worth 
 doing at all is worth doing well. 
 
 We will suppose that the jungle or forest you 
 intend to shoot in is one of large extent ; your best 
 plan will, in all probability, be to stalk game in it, or 
 if the soil is such that game can be tracked, take up 
 fresh footmarks that you may come upon, and pro- 
 ceed most quietly, with your eyes alternately on 
 the ground and in advance as far as you can see. 
 
 The shikarees behind you should keep a look-out, 
 one to your right hand and the other to the left. 
 Change every hour or so with one of your shikarees, 
 or a good village tracker, one used to the jungle or 
 born in it, for the strain to the sight of the leading 
 man is very great, and after an hour the eye becomes 
 fatigued in the heat and glare. But if you determine 
 to drive a certain portion of this large jungle, have 
 yourself posted near a run, or track made by the 
 game, and let your beaters drive very quietly ; in 
 short, unless there is thick underwood, they may be 
 about a hundred yards apart, two and two, and ad- 
 vance towards where you are posted in the form of a 
 semicircle, without any beating of bushes whatever. 
 If very thick and likely to hold tigers or panthers, 
 and such like game, let them only make a slight noise 
 by striking trees with the sticks they have in their 
 hands, or by merely clapping their bands quietly. It 
 is strange, but a fact, that tigers and such game are 
 more easily kept moving by this quiet beating than 
 
 17 
 
258 TV'ILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 by shouting and hallooing. The latter often makes 
 them rush back through the beaters or go by the 
 sportsman at such a pace through the bushes that a 
 snap shot only is obtained : while if the animal is 
 quietly kept in front of the beaters he, in the heat of 
 the day, continually stops, and turns his head to 
 listen. In this way, if he approaches the hunter, 
 the shot presented is a deadly one. 
 
 When other advantages can be obtained as to the 
 posting being to leeward of the beaters, and the 
 game is of great consequence — and, indeed, some 
 game is more gifted with scent than either sight or 
 hearing, and these kinds will not approach man 
 when their noses have warned them of his neigh- 
 bourhood — you must go to the spot 3-ou intend to 
 stand upon, if possible, by a path making a de'tour, 
 and always as silently as possible ; place yourself 
 and shikarees behind a tree, and below the tops of 
 the bushes. Only one of you at a time should be 
 standing. If your game is dropped dead by your 
 shot or shots, do not leave your hiding-place, for 
 game runs nearly in direct tracks, and if there is 
 more game in the wood you will probably obtain 
 another shot. Of course, if eatable game is lyinf 
 wounded, your shikaree must be allowed to cut its 
 throat, both to put it out of pain, as well as to make 
 it fit for food. Now, if you fire at tigers, panthers, 
 or bears coming towards you, or standing front on 
 to you, so that they would see from behind what tree 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 259 
 
 or shelter the shot came, directly you have fired step 
 boldly out, at least a couple of paces from behind the 
 tree or shelter, in order that you may fairly face 
 your foe, and that be may not dodge you round the 
 tree and spring upon you and claw you or your men 
 before you can use your trifle. 
 
 To beat a sendbund (date-grove) for hog, the 
 riders, if more than two, are usually concealed, some 
 in pairs, at different points, where hog are in the 
 habit of breaking, while others proceed on either 
 side, close to the jungle, not before the line of 
 beaters. These sendbunds often extend for many 
 miles, varying in breadth from twenty yards to two 
 hundred. Hog are very fond of them, as they 
 almost always have a small stream running through, 
 and parallel with them, affording water in the 
 hottest weather, while the thick and prickly foliage 
 spreading, as it does, to the ground, affords shelter 
 from the elements and sun, as well as protection 
 from the tigers and panthers, who do not like the 
 thorn, but inhabit !the send-bunds to prey upon the 
 wild hogs. A sounder of hog with a large boar or 
 two in it is a formidable opponent to even a tiger, 
 when it is lying in a stye formed of low date-thorn ; 
 and the tiger and panther attacks the sounder chiefly 
 when on the move. 
 
 Again let me remind the young sportsman to take 
 the precaution to have men up in trees, a little 
 distance, if practicable, from the sendbund, on 
 
 17—2 
 
260 AYILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 either side as well as towards where the beat will 
 end. It is often very difficult to drive hog out of a 
 large and long sendbund, and no quantity of beaters 
 can do it on many occasions. The best way is to 
 place men every here and there, with either guns or 
 pistols to be loaded with powder only and wads, 
 with instructions to fire off, generally, directly a 
 sounder of hog or a large boar is roused. If you 
 have an elephant put one of your best men on it, to 
 keep the line of beaters even, and to fire off his gun 
 at the proper time. If all this fails in making the 
 hog break, divide your beaters into two parties, and 
 having them put into the sendbund, one at each 
 end, or if too large for this about two miles apart, 
 let them drive the hog towards each other. Of 
 course you will first find out the best part of this 
 large sendbund to beat, or that which is known to 
 contain hog. The two bodies, when they approach, 
 may make a little more noise than I have before 
 recommended; and as the hog find that there are 
 beaters both before and behind, they will often bolt 
 and take clear off for another jungle. Take care 
 you do not ride too soon or show your horses or 
 make any noise with them : for if once they are 
 discovered by the hog, who have been at any time 
 before ridden after, your sport will be spoilt. The 
 above plan is suitable for any jungle which is 
 circumscribed or denned by boundaries as to its 
 breadth for beating, and for anv animals whatever. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 201 
 
 The most difficult jungle to beat hog out of, unless 
 there is other jungle close enough for them easily 
 to reach before they can be caught by the sportsman, 
 is a hill side in which there are deep wooded corries 
 and ravines ; or an isolated hill covered with jungle, 
 away from other hills or cover. Hog will often 
 leave them directly you put in the beaters, if there 
 is jouwaree (a coarse grain used instead of wheat, 
 the stalk of which grows oftentimes very high) near, 
 as they know this is a shelter for them ; and they 
 constantly lie in it for days together, just as they do 
 in sugar-cane or heavy jungle. Now if you are 
 beating a corrie or wooded ravine, or even the side 
 of a hill, for any game for your rifle, and there is 
 but one sportsman out, the best place for him is to 
 be in the bottom, and in a line with the beaters ; for 
 it is more easy to see your game moving through 
 the bushes, and up against the side of the hill from 
 below, than looking down from above ; the sight is 
 often intercepted in the latter case by bushes, but in 
 these beatings, whether you have both sides of the 
 hill beaten at the same time, or only one side at a 
 time, always make your flanks keep a little in 
 advance of your centre. Game run by any beater 
 near the centre will not be able immediately to take 
 up the hill, which is their usual run if there is any 
 other jungle they wish to go to. 
 
 Of course I am not now describing a beat for 
 hog, who are the most obstinate brutes in the 
 
262 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 jungle, and will pretty generally run where they 
 like, breaking your line, and upsetting beaters in 
 tlieiiMvay. If you have two sportsmen out, let one 
 remain below, as before described, and the other in 
 advance of that flank of the line, and just along the 
 edge of that side of the hill most likely to hold 
 game. If three men are out, one on either flank of 
 course ; and if four are out, let one place himself at 
 the very head or top of the ravine, which very com- 
 monly terminates in abrupt rocks and caves ; if 
 there are either bears, panthers, or leopards in the 
 ravine, they are very likely to make for these eaves 
 and rocks. This kind of ground should, if possible, 
 be reconnoitred quietly before being beaten ; you will 
 then ascertain what game frequents it, and what are 
 the runs used by that game. 
 
 I can only give you a general idea how to beat 
 jungle in India. Experience and long practice alone 
 can teach you to beat successfully. In using your 
 rifle from below at game moving above you, aim, if 
 above seventy-five yards, at the ridge, as high nearly 
 as the withers, if you wish to hit behind the shoulder, 
 because bullets will dip a little in being fired up-hill ; 
 while in firing at game below you with a rifle, you 
 are very likely to shoot over it : aim, therefore, rather 
 low — according to the pace the animal is moving at, 
 as well as the position from you ; aim a little before 
 him, but very little if within a hundred yards, and it 
 is not of much use firing at longer distances. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 263 
 
 I would impress on the young sportsman, before 
 he enters the jungle or forest to find and attack any 
 of the savage and wild animals, that lie should have 
 made up his mind always to follow up and kill the 
 animals he may have wounded ; because, if he does 
 not, and they have not been mortally wounded so as 
 to die within a very short time, animals such as tigers, 
 panthers, bears, wild boars, elephants, bison, or buf- 
 falos, will attack and kill any persons who may 
 inadvertently come near the place, where they may 
 be remaining. While smarting under wounds, they 
 are very irritable, or perhaps very hungry, in the 
 case of tigers or panthers. 
 
 This is also an additional reason for not firing at 
 the above-mentioned animals at long distances or 
 with random shots ; for the most dangerous part of 
 the hunter's work, and the most difficult, is the fol- 
 lowing up of wounded game. Darkness, or being 
 quite baffled by loss of track, should alone put an end 
 to the search for the animal ; and the loss of wounded 
 tigers or panthers is a very strong argument against 
 following this shikar in the evening or late in the 
 afternoon. 
 
 There is another plan followed by the native, 
 though I have never known it done by European 
 shikarees, as a precaution against the attack of tigers 
 after firing at them, and this is to place a charpoy, or 
 native cot, strung with strong twine, over the hole 
 the hunters sit in. The legs of this cot are some two 
 
264 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 feet high, half of which are buried in the ground at 
 the four corners of the square hole; the mould is 
 thrown up to within a few inches of the under part 
 of the cot, and this forms a cover and partial pro- 
 tection over the shikaree ; not that a determined, 
 vicious tiger would be stopped by this if he was 
 determined to get at his enemy. 
 
 I have omitted to mention that both tigers and 
 panthers will often not strike a single bullock or goat 
 when tied up as a bait. 
 
 The plan is, in these cases, to picket four or five 
 animals near one another ; the tiger or panther is thus 
 thrown off his guard ; he fancies that they belong to 
 a herd or flock ; and he will be induced to fall upon 
 one and kill it, and the hunter will get his shot while 
 the blood is being drunk. 
 
 I think that it is a better plan to wait for and 
 shoot these animals when they have fallen on the 
 tied-up bait than to beat for them with a lot of 
 beaters in the jungle. It is also safer for your 
 people. 
 
 Sometimes, however, and especially when deer 
 and hog are very numerous, tigers will not kill a 
 tied-up bullock; and thus it is very difficult to find 
 the tiger to obtain a shot at in any way save by 
 driving the jungle for him with a number of beaters. 
 
 I had almost forgotten to mention that a virtue in 
 your shikaree, as well as yourself — one, too, almost 
 as requisite as courage or endurance, is patience. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 265 
 
 Under an Indian sun, I am sorry to say thai this is 
 more difficult to practise than can be well imagined. 
 
 In the very hot weather the wild animals by 
 evening time become very thirsty. The tiger, hot- 
 blooded animal as he is, rushes into the water, and 
 throws himself alone the surface in the shallow at 
 full length — he is in ecstasy; and if you are in a 
 jungle where the water is scarce, and you can find 
 out from his marks that he drinks and bathes at a 
 certain tank, the getting a shot at him there is very 
 probable. If the tank is not too large for you to 
 command the entire of it 'with your rifle, have a hole 
 six feet deep about the centre, unless from the nature 
 jof the soil, such as sticky mud, or thorny shrubs 
 round other parts, you find that he has a favourite 
 drinking place. Round the hole have the mud dug 
 out of it, piled like a wall, but up and down, that is, 
 in a form like large notches, say six inches deep ; in 
 one of these your rifle rests, while your head is better 
 sheltered than if you were looking over a flat-surfaced 
 wall. You need not be within some yards of the 
 water. The most deadly shot would be while he was 
 stretched at length on the surface of the water ; and 
 even if it is deep, the dark object is quite visible in the 
 shining water. If it is broad daylight, you can aim 
 at his head as he stands at the edge drinking; — 
 do not throw away the shot, for he may not bathe 
 then. 
 
 A screen near the water's edge alarms, being clean 
 
286 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 away from all other shelter, but the hole dug near 
 the water, having the mould thrown out all round 
 the edge, does not frighten the animals, for it differs 
 not much from the holes made by the wild hog — very 
 common round all tanks. 
 
 I have given, in another portion of the book, all 
 the points of the high-caste Arab horse ; all that is 
 now required i^ to put the young aspirant into the 
 way of choosing his horse for hunting. If j'ou can 
 purchase one sound in every way from a well-known 
 good rider, perhaps such will be more serviceable 
 to you than buying a fresh horse from the dealer's 
 stalls ; partly because, unless you are in the habit of 
 breaking horses to hunt, you may very possibly pur- 
 chase a fresh horse who will never become a good 
 hunter, and partly because broken-in horses are not 
 nearly so likely to injure themselves and overreach 
 badly, as young horses who do not know how to go 
 in a collected form across country. Remember that 
 scars and fair hog-hunting blemishes do not at all 
 deteriorate from a hunter's value. 
 
 If you determine to buy a fresh horse, and are at 
 Bombay or Bangalore, the two best marts for the 
 best Arab horse, get the best judge of an Arab to go 
 with you. Height is not a matter of consequence, 
 but do not get one under fourteen hands, unless he 
 has some wonderful qualities to make up for his low 
 stature. However, the most courageous, and I think 
 as fine a jumper as I ever had, or have ever seen, 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 267 
 
 ■was a galloway thirteen hands three inches- only in 
 height. The most courageous horses are the dark 
 chestnuts ; and this is a very fine colour, if you can 
 obtain high blood with it, for he is not fiery, nor of a 
 hasty temperament. Look particularly to good legs, 
 flat, with superior ligaments, and flexor tendons 
 clearly developed, and away from the cannon-bones, 
 and sound black feet, not the least too large for the 
 legs: as for the rest, a short, compact back, and 
 powerful quarters, are essential to a weight-carrier 
 and a fine jumper. Do not buy a horse with sloping 
 or long pasterns as a hunter ; a little too straight 
 here, if the shoulders are well thrown back, does not 
 matter so much, because horses with rather straight 
 pasterns do not bruise them and cut them on the 
 stones so much as better-shaped and properly sloped 
 ones. 
 
 Action is power — it is all in all ; a horse without it, 
 may do to look at — while standing still he may 
 appear a magnificent animal, but he is not worth a 
 shilling. A light chestnut is as bad a colour as a 
 horse can be of; the golden chestnut, the bay, and 
 brown, and the numerous grays (neelas), that is, 
 those with blue skins, are all good colours. Never 
 buy anything but a high-caste horse as a hunter ; it 
 is a common and fatal error to suppose that it is not 
 necessary to have a blood horse for this purpose, but 
 vou had better have a blood pony than a great big 
 low-caste brute. In stony and bad countries, your 
 
268 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 hunter- receives so many blows and injuries that 
 incapacitate him for exercise between the days of 
 your hunting him, that unless he is a blood horse, lie 
 cannot go, after the rest that he has been obliged to 
 have since his last hunting. A blood horse requires 
 only walking exercise, and he is fit to go his best for 
 such distance as a wild hog will run ; but a low-caste 
 horse becomes gross and is blown in a quarter of a 
 rnile. 
 
 The heels of hunters get so badly cut, that they 
 sometimes stream with blood, the buttons are com- 
 pletely cut off, and this will take a fortnight or 
 more to heal. Of course, to have to gallop a horse 
 in this condition for the purpose of keeping him in 
 wind, is both cruel and inexpedient. A blood horse 
 will not require it, he is always fit to go. 
 
 I remember a case in question at Hingolee, in 1850. 
 I had a very high blood bay Anezah Arab, clear 
 fifteen hands high, off which I scarcely ever lost the 
 first spear. This horse was wounded by a boar, and 
 had been laid up for twenty-two days, and had not 
 been out of a walk until the next time I took him 
 out hunting. We laid into a neelgai (blue bull), who 
 had a start of a quarter of a mile. Three others, 
 well mounted, besides myself, started by word, and 
 when the blue bull threw himself into a quicksandy 
 river, in which the horse stuck, after a run of two and 
 a half miles, not a horseman was within three quarters 
 of a mile of me. The horse was not distressed, and 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 269 
 
 had fairly out-paced the blue bull, who only, owing 
 to the luck of the river, escaped. Any but a pure 
 bred blood horse would have been shut up in the first 
 half mile, at the pace we went, if he had been sub- 
 jected to such a trial ; and it is only the son of the 
 desert that proves his noble descent on such occa- 
 sions. 
 
 The other reason is, that a blood horse is always 
 alive when he rolls over you, and does not crush you 
 like a low-bred horse, who falls when blown as if he 
 was dead. 
 
 Even as to price, count not the money you give 
 for a real Arab — go and sell all you possess and make 
 him your own. 
 
 If you can ride, saddle and all, twelve stone, you 
 should get a good hunter, pure bred, fourteen hands 
 one inch high for one thousand rupees at Bombay. 
 You may pick up a good horse in almost any of the 
 dealers' stables. Mahomed Bawker, I think, is as 
 good a judge of an Arab as there is in Bombaj', and 
 I have never been disappointed in any horse I have 
 bought of him. 
 
 Now, whether the horse you procure is a fresh 
 Arab, or purchased from a man who has had him 
 m work, the first thing to be done before you begin 
 to hunt him, is to physic judiciously, and after that 
 to exercise. Stop his grain, and give him for his mid- 
 day food a seer — that is, two pounds weight — of boosa 
 (bran) as a mash, which make up in the following 
 
270 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 way: — Put the bran into a clean and well-washed 
 stable-bucket, on it pour as much boiling water as 
 will thoroughly scald it, stir it well up with a stick, 
 so as not to leave any dry bran sticking to the sides. 
 Then cover up for ten minutes ; add half a handful 
 of common salt, and one handful of grain, split — mix 
 well; then, when cool enough to be eaten, give it. 
 Do not stint him in grass or water this day. Give 
 a bran mash as above, also, instead of his evening 
 feed of grain. Let him have his walking exercise 
 as usual. The next morning, give him another bran 
 mash, as above, but only half his usual quantity of 
 water, and not more than two pounds weight of hay 
 or dried grass. At midday repeat the bran mash, as 
 above, and then put on the muzzle, making quite 
 sure that it fits him, and that he cannot slip it off. 
 Give him no water at his usual afternoon watering 
 time ; but at four o'clock, r.M., have a ball made up 
 of best aloes, five drachms, very finely pounded — if 
 for a five-year-old horse — and one drachm of dry 
 ginger, and one drachm of soft soap, or, indeed, any 
 kind of soap. Mix aloes and ginger in the mortar, 
 add the soap, and then pound together till well 
 mixed — a few drops of water will be enough to 
 soften the mass sufficiently — then roll into a lono- 
 ball, which should be two and a half inches long by 
 not more than an inch thick ; wrap carefully in any 
 thin paper — silver paper is the best. When ready to 
 give, smear the ball outside with a few drops of oil. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 271 
 
 Now give the horse a fall bucket of water to drink, if 
 in the cold weather with the chill taken off by a 
 little hot water. Administer the ball very carefully, 
 and you had better use the balling-iron ; but do not 
 elongate the tongue by pulling at it, merely hold it 
 at one side of the mouth, by the pressure of the 
 fingers of the left hand; directly you have given the 
 ball (which place gently beyond the root of the 
 tongue), withdraw the balling- iron, gently slap the 
 horse under the lower jaw, which will cause him to 
 throw his head up, and bolt the ball. A few little 
 bits of green grass, just to take out the taste of the 
 aloes that may have oozed through the paper. Wash 
 his mouth, put on the saddle and bridles, and give 
 him a gentle canter of a mile in three times, with a 
 little walking between each canter. Have him 
 nicely cleaned ; offer him a bran mash now, which 
 will be about six o'clock, r.M., a little warm, and pre- 
 pared as before ; then muzzle him for the night, 
 giving no grass. 
 
 It is better to give the mash now than to wait 
 until his usual feeding-time, eight o'clock or so ; 
 because, when the medicine begins to nauseate, which 
 it usually does three or four hours after, many horses 
 will not eat a mash at all. If the horse is young, 
 say a colt of three years, three and a half drachms 
 of aloes ; if four years' old, four drachms will be 
 sufficient, unless he is a vei-y large, thick-set colt. 
 The dose of five drachms is for horses from five to 
 
272 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 seven years' old; after that, another half-drachm, 
 and sometimes more, may be required. By this 
 system, smaller doses will act more speedily, and 
 instead of remaining twenty-fours hours in a horse's 
 stomach and intestines, and thus nauseating him 
 and weakening him, the giving water and a canter 
 at these particular times will cause the medicine to 
 commence operating twelve hours or so after it is 
 given ; and on opening the stable in the morning 
 you will find that the medicine has purged the horse 
 some five or six times ; and if not, have him taken 
 out and walked about briskly : this will answer. 
 
 Now it is very probable that he will not feel in- 
 clined to eat his bran-mash, which is a tasteless thing 
 at all times. Give him water, half a bucket at a 
 time, with the chill off, say three or four times 
 during the day, unless he is violently purged ; and 
 in this case boil one seer, that is, two pounds of rice, 
 in a gallon and a half of water, and make thick 
 congee or rice-water; let it stand until nearly cold, 
 then, by stinting him of plain water, he will drink 
 this. You can give him more if the purginf con- 
 tinues ; and in this case, do not move him out of the 
 stall nor have him stripped, either to be brushed or 
 currycombed, in short, leave him as quiet as pos- 
 sible. Give him three or four pounds weight of 
 hay or dry grass, but on no account gi - een grass, 
 when in physic. You may have a pound of grain 
 boiled, and give him this if he refuses his mash. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 273 
 
 After his physic is thoroughly set, let him return to 
 his usual food, and exercise gradually. If his usual 
 food has been four seers of grain, or eight pounds 
 weight daily, give him half that, with half a pound 
 of scalded bran, in each feed of grain. Always give 
 common salt — a tablespoonful or so — in every feed 
 of every horse you have. It keeps their stomachs in 
 good order, and is a capital tonic. On no account 
 ride your horse after his physic has been set, for 
 three days, except in a walk; but the long walk in 
 hand is good for him. It is very rare that a horse 
 properly physicked is over-purged ; sometimes such 
 things do happen. Half-drachm doses of opium, 
 made into a small ball, with a bit of soft bread, may 
 be given in these cases every three hours, until the 
 purging ceases, and complete rest, with very little 
 water, allowed. Now a fresh horse may require 
 altogether as much as three doses of mild physic 
 before he is got into condition to hunt. 
 
 If a horse has a staring coat, is hide-bound, and if 
 on turning it down the lid of the eye is yellow, if he 
 is dull and does not feed kindly, you had better call 
 in a veterinary, surgeon, who will understand his 
 case, and treat him better than you with your small 
 experience. Calomel will probably be required, com- 
 bined with the aloes, and calomel is a dangerous 
 medicine in the hands of one with a little knowledge; 
 dano-erous in this as in other matters. 
 
 Arab horses are not commonly affected with liver 
 
 18 
 
274 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 complaints, but Australian and imported English 
 horses are very subject to it, and it kills annually 
 a great proportion of them. The Deccan horse is 
 rarely subject to it. Indeed, as this disease attacks 
 the European more violently than the native, so it 
 does attack horses that come from a colder climate, 
 and it runs its course speedily ; even when the horse 
 escapes with his life, his sight is usually so much 
 affected that he becomes useless. 
 
 Now, to exercise your horse after he has been 
 physicked, have him very carefully shod with shoes 
 according to the size of his feet ; and their strength 
 as to the weight of the horse's body and the ground 
 he has to go over. If very stony and rocky, do not 
 use very light shoes, for they will be bent ; but if 
 you only require him for hunting over cotton soil, or 
 fields clear of stones, a light shoe will be best, but 
 always agreeably to the strength and shape of his 
 feet. Six nails will be ample, three on either side. 
 Perhaps clips at the toe and on either side of the 
 hoof, but small ones, agreeably to the size of the feet, 
 would keep on the shoes, which are constantly 
 knocked off on bad, uneven, stony ground. I have 
 tried countersunk nails, and many other kinds of 
 shoeing, and all in vain, on this kind of rocky ground, 
 and the shoes have almost always been either broken 
 or knocked off; and as your horse has constantly to 
 go miles in the sun after hog, without one or more of 
 his shoes, it is absolutely necessarv to have a hunter 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 275 
 
 with strong feet, that is, if you wish to ride him over 
 all ground. In many cases you have ridden through 
 boggy and swampy ground, through rivers and 
 smaller streams. Your horse's hoofs are full of clay, 
 or almost spongy with moisture at one part of the 
 run ; at another, he has to go at full speed over rock 
 and through bush, where no soil is visible. 
 
 The points, then, which must be obtained in a 
 hunter, before either beauty of form or conformation 
 of other parts, are good shoulders and good feet. 
 
 Now, when you are starting to go out hog-hunting, 
 or indeed to ride at all hard, warn your horse-keepers 
 or other servants that stay at home, to have plenty of 
 hot water ready, that immediately you dismount, if 
 your horse is cool, you may have his forelegs, one by 
 one, fomented ; or if a quiet horse, and you have two 
 fomenting buckets, both forelegs can be put into the 
 water as hot as they can bear it English yellow 
 bar-soap makes the best lather ; and to the heels 
 and pastern, and up, to just below the knee, let 
 this be liberally applied. For at least a quarter of 
 an hour let each leg be in the hot water, and if you 
 have been through thorns or bushes to above the 
 knee, then have each, one by one, thoroughly dried, 
 but the heels not rubbed hard, so as to take the hair 
 and skin off. Have warm, either serge bandages, 
 such as are sold by English saddlers, or flannel, 
 about four inches wide, with two pieces of half-inch 
 tape, sewn at one end. Bandage very carefully and 
 
 18—2 
 
276 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 evenly, taking two folds the first time round, from 
 either above the knee or below it — being regulated 
 by the height you have fomented — and let the last 
 fold of the bandage go round the lower pastern and 
 heels, fastening the tape not too tight round below 
 the pastern joints. About half the breadth of the 
 fold should be taken after the first two. The warm 
 bandages absorb any moisture that may remain after 
 the fomentation ; and hard rubbing prevents wind- 
 galls, and sore heels, and cracks, and greatly relieves 
 the horse's legs, which may have been knocked about 
 and bruised, or are stiff from hard galloping. Leave 
 the bandages on until the horse has been thoroughly 
 dried and cleaned. You will have some water given 
 to him, say from one to two gallons, agreeably to the 
 time of year and length of time the horse has been 
 without water, and the heat or coolness of his body, 
 a quarter of an hour or so after he has come in. 
 Half an hour after that give him his food, or if much 
 distressed and off his feed, give him gruel made of 
 suttoo (flour of grain, a kind of vetch, which is 
 usually given instead of oats. The grain is roasted, 
 then ground in a chucken or hand-mill, and as much 
 as a quarter of a seer weight, that is, half a pound of 
 the suttoo mixed with the water with the hand). If 
 the horse will drink it in water with the chill off, it 
 will be better than cold water. But many horses 
 will not drink it at all at first ; and therefore it is a 
 good plan to accustom them to drink it now and then 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 277 
 
 before they go out hunting, instead of their plain 
 water. Many horses take a great fancy to it. 
 
 Suttoo is also made with equal quantities of chenna 
 (grain) and jow (barley), both roasted, and then very 
 finely ground in a heavy hand-mill. The barley 
 makes it more cool to the stomach than the suttoo 
 made from grain only. This is slightly diuretic, and 
 you must not be continually offering it to your horses. 
 Now, the best cordial that you can give to a tired 
 horse is the following : — Obtain equal parts, say a 
 quarter of seer (half a pound weight) of aniseed, car- 
 raway seeds, and green ginger, and pound very fine 
 in a mortar each separately ; then mix the three, and 
 add to them one seer (two pounds weight) of godo 
 (the coarsest sugar) or molasses. All these materials 
 can be got in any bazaar, and are called ajwan, somp, 
 and south. The carraway and aniseed are of a coarse 
 kind. Of this mass of cordial mixture, give to a 
 horse directly he comes in from hunting, after his 
 water, as much as you can take up in your hand, 
 i. e. a lump of the size of a cricket-ball. Have this 
 given, as native horsekeepers well understand how to 
 doj with the hand. A little grass is put into the horse's 
 mouth after a portion of the cordial mass, and the jaws 
 are opened by the horsekeeper's putting his fingers on 
 either side of the horse's mouth, between the tusks and 
 grinders ; the animal, after he finds that it is sweet, will 
 very often eat it of himself, and I have had racehorses 
 drink a bottle of ale with this cordial ball mixed in it. 
 
278 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 Your horse for hog-hunting should have been ex- 
 ercised sufficiently to take the flesh off him, that is, 
 he should not be lusty, and if he is one who puts up 
 flesh rapidly, and who will not keep in moderately 
 light form with a two-mile gallop at half-speed, 
 finished occasionally by a sharp brush for the last 
 quarter of a mile at nearly his best, you must put 
 sweating cloths on him. If not a light weight your- 
 self — that is, if you weigh more than nine stone, with- 
 out saddle, bridles, &c. — have a native boy who can 
 ride well, put him up with some light kersey cloths. 
 The putting on these, so that they do not fray or 
 chafe the horse behind the elbow points, as well as to 
 allow him free play of his shoulders, is not to be 
 learnt in a day. You can obtain all this information 
 from Darvill or other works, as well as how to treat 
 horses after sweating, for they easily get cold and 
 rheumatism, if not properly attended to at that time. 
 Some horses will be kept sufficient!}- light in flesh 
 and in wind by merely putting a lot of cloths on 
 them when they return to their stalls after their 
 gallop ; but they must be near their stalls when 
 pulled up, or if you have no rubbing-down place for 
 them at the racecourse where you exercise them, 
 you had better have them clothed doubl\ r , and imme- 
 diately they are dismounted have them walked home 
 quickly. Give the water rather warm to encourage 
 perspiration. 
 
 Light iron hoops, about ten inches in diameter, are 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. '21 d 
 
 as good scrapers as you. can use in India, and the 
 horsekeepers can handle them better than English 
 ones. Remember that some horses become very 
 irritable when being scraped, and though perfectly 
 quiet at other times, lash out and seize with their 
 teeth very roughly. Heel-ropes for the hind legs, a 
 light muzzle, with the holes at the nostrils large to 
 admit of easy respiration, for the mouth, and a pair of 
 light hobbles, made of soft and broad tape, for the 
 pawing horse, will enable the horsekeepers to scrape 
 and clean almost any but the most vicious horse. 
 
 You will find it advisable at all times to have the 
 hay j-ou give to your hunters weighed accurately, 
 and from six to eight pounds will be found enough 
 for each horse, half of it given after his morning's 
 water and when he has been cleaned, and the other 
 half partly between the hours he comes in from 
 hunting or walking exercise in the evenings and 
 after he has had his last feed at eight o'clock. When 
 he has eaten his grass, always muzzle your hunter, 
 or, indeed, all your horses, both in the daytime and 
 night. A loose box is the best stable for horses, but 
 if you have none such, let your horse be fastened 
 with a running rope or chain, and a wooden ball for 
 a weight, to prevent the rope or chain getting round 
 his legs. I laways had a sheath made of wood, hol- 
 lowed out with a hole in it for the chain at a distance 
 from the ground, agreeably to the height of the horse, 
 and a leaden ball for weight running inside the wood, 
 
280 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 By this plan, if it is properly adjusted, the weight 
 always keeps the chain tight, and there is no fear of 
 its becoming entangled in the horse's legs ; a little 
 grease is necessary to make the chain run freely 
 through the hole. I water and feed my horses as 
 follows in India : — When they come in from their 
 exercise and have become cool (except the mornings 
 when they are sweated), give water to the extent of 
 a gallon (a quarter of a common dhole or leather 
 bucket) in the cold weather, and a gallon and a half 
 in the hot weather ; half an hour after this the first 
 feed of grain. Supposing the horse during the entire 
 day gets four and a half seers, or nine pounds weight 
 of grain (which is ample for an Arab horse of fourteen 
 hands two inches high, in common, not hunting exer- 
 cise), the morning's feed will be one and a half seers ; 
 an hour after this give a dholeful of water (say 
 three gallons). The dhole is a long leather bucket, 
 with which, in India, the bheestee (or water-carrier) 
 draws water, with a rope attached to it, from the well. 
 This bucket holds from two and a half to three and a 
 half gallons, and the bheestee waters the horses always 
 with these. After the water, give half of his entire 
 allowance of hay ; this will be finished by half-past 
 ten or eleven o'clock, and then your stalls should be 
 shut up and darkened, the horse well littered down 
 with straw up to his knees, and thus encouraged to lie 
 down. While he is eating his ha} r , the syee, or 
 horsekeepcr, should be at hand, rubbing his legs, the 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 281 
 
 bandages having been taken off one by one. In some 
 cases, where horses have delicate forelegs, or where 
 they have had blows from hunting or in training, 
 cold bandages of cotton cloth, not sewn at the edges, 
 constantly kept wet with the coldest water, are re- 
 quired. I think the best plan is to have water put 
 the day before in a new earthenware gurra, or pot, 
 which for a fortnight after it has been made will 
 remain porous. Old earthenware pots are of no use 
 whatever. 
 
 If you can obtain ice — which you can at the 
 Presidencies and in Upper India — this will be better 
 than the coldest water. Two table-spoonsfull of 
 nousagur (sal ammoniac), two of shorah (saltpetre), 
 two of nimmuck (common salt), one quart of seerka 
 (common vinegar), and two quarts of cold spring 
 water. Mix and stir till dissolved, then put into a 
 new earthenware gurra or pot, and place the lattei-, 
 covered up, in the shade and a draught of wind, with 
 a little lightly-placed straw under it to prevent 
 breakage. This is the best lotion that can be 
 applied, and with it the bandages should be kept 
 constantly thoroughly wet, and should be sewn at the 
 end round the pastern instead of being tied with 
 tape. Apply these cold bandages while he is eating 
 his hay, and after he has had his legs hand-rubbed 
 and the warm bandages taken off. When he has 
 finished his hay take off the cold wet bandages, dry 
 his legs, one by one, well; then, having plenty of 
 
282 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 straw bedding, darken the stable., and have him 
 muzzled to lie down. Rest is of the utmost conse- 
 quence. Do not allow any one to walk about or talk 
 near the stables now. 
 
 To prevent the heels cracking, use a little cala- 
 mine ointment after the heels and legs have been 
 thoroughly dried ; when you have this applied, make 
 the horsekeeper hold the horse's feet up by putting 
 his left hand under the fore part of the pastern : 
 in this way all the cracks will remain open, and the 
 ointment will ffet to the bottom and heal them. The 
 usual place of washing a horse's hoofs and heels is 
 by taking hold of the hoof near the toe; this closes 
 the cracks in the lower and back part of the pasterns 
 and heels, prevents the scapsuds entering and cleans- 
 ing them ; the sand and mud remain in, and then the 
 ointment is rubbed in, and closing the surface of the 
 cracks, this is the fertile source of injuries which it 
 is intended to prevent or cure. Your time will not 
 be thrown away by learning how to have horses' 
 heels washed, and showing your horsekeeper how to 
 do it. You can illustrate this and make it quite 
 clear to the meanest capacity by opening your own 
 hand and showing the palm of this, washing it with 
 soap when open, then washing it half closed after 
 you have rubbed a little earth into the cracks ; after 
 the latter operation the dirt will be found to remain 
 in. It is as true as it is strange that so few should 
 know or practise the proper method of washing 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 283 
 
 horses' heels and treating them after being washed. 
 The system of many grooms of washing horses' 
 heels., legs, and even bellies, in the open air, when 
 they come home heated from exercise of any sort, 
 is the prolific cause of diseases, such as swelled legs 
 and wind-galls ; diseases of the heels, such as grease 
 and cracked heels ; and diseases of the body, such as 
 check of perspiration, causing violent colds, coughs, 
 colics, inflammation, and numerous other fatal mala- 
 dies. What appears to be a minor malady, as 
 cracked heels, is one of serious import ; for to effect 
 a cure a horse's work must be stopped, and directly 
 that is done his food must be reduced; generally a 
 close or two of purgative medicine will have to be 
 administered ; and if the animal is not properly 
 treated while in this state of only walking exercise, 
 he will become gross, and otherwise lose his condi- 
 tion ; and all this time, he is, to use a common 
 expression, eating his head off. I had forgotten to 
 state that the rapidity with which the wet bandages 
 dry, shows the extent, and heat, and consequent 
 inflammation of the legs. 
 
 It is not mj' intention, though I have been con- 
 stantly asked, to write a chapter or two on training 
 the Arab racehorse in this second edition. My 
 reply, which I will put on record, was this. I will 
 not do it, as it might encourage horse-racing, which 
 I am sorry to say in India, even as in England, is 
 not followed for the legitimate sport, by which I 
 
284 WILD SPOKTS OF INDIA. 
 
 mean, running horses for public money, and the 
 pleasure of seeing the noble horse in his highest 
 form struggle for victory. 
 
 I have, whenever opportunity occurred, trained 
 and raced horses for many years past ; but those who 
 asked me to write on training, know that I have 
 always made a point of abstaining from all betting 
 whatsoever, and that I never even took a ticket in a 
 lottery, and scarcely ever even attended one. If all 
 racing was followed in this manner, the gambling of 
 racing would have no place ; the legitimate and, the 
 improvement of the horse would ensue, and the 
 pursuit would be considered, as it was among the 
 ancients, an honourable and manly one. 
 
 Ulysses was called the horse-nourishing Ulysses, 
 and it was used as an honourable title. Alas ! in 
 these days, a man fond of horses is almost always 
 looked upon with suspicion, and his fellow mortals 
 give him no credit either for his knowledge of the 
 animal or for the trouble and time he may expend 
 in improving the breed or ameliorating the lot of this 
 noble servant of man. 
 
285 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 (No. I.) 
 
 ON THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF HORSES USED IN 
 INDIA. 
 
 The Arab: his Points and Qualities — Cavalry Remounts — The 
 Horse-Fair at Malligaum — The Kuteewar Horse — Prices of 
 Horses — The Deccan Horse — Breeding and breaking in — Plans 
 adopted by, or suggested to, the Government — Australian and 
 Cape Horses. 
 
 So much has been written and published respecting 
 the Arab horse which is imported into India, that it 
 seems almost superfluous to write more ; but as I 
 have had a large number in use, as hacks, hunters, 
 racers, and chargers, though none for harness, and 
 have bred from them, I will give the results of my 
 own experience. 
 
 In the first place, the Arab horse is the very best 
 horse, under saddle, for all general purposes, that can 
 be procured in India. If anything besides general 
 opinion is required to corroborate this, it is found in 
 the fact that in the market, the Arab horse invariably 
 commands the highest price, whether he is bought 
 for a racer, a charger, a hunter, or a hack. He is the 
 
286 WILD SPOKTS OF INDIA. 
 
 soundest horse, the most enduring, the most beautiful 
 to the eye, the most docile, and the most courageous, 
 and he is more easily broken in than any other. His 
 progeny, too, partake of most of these virtues. 
 There is so much uniformity in them, that it is very 
 rarely indeed that in India any other horse is mis- 
 taken for an Arab ; and the only occasions when 
 I have known the mistake made has been when colts 
 have had much Arab blood in them. Two or three 
 times I have had horses that could not be known from 
 high-caste imported Arabs ; but then they were either 
 pure Arabs by sire and dame, or else thoroughbred 
 English and Arab. 
 
 Bombay and Bangalore are the chief marts for the 
 Arab horse ; and in the stables at the former place, 
 from November to February, }~ou may see as many 
 as a thousand fresh horses for sale. Out of these, 
 perhaps fifty are high-caste horses, either the Nedjd 
 — which is the pure Arab, rarely standing above 
 fourteen, and more commonly fourteen hands and 
 under — or the Aneezah Arabs, the highest form of 
 which is bred by a tribe of Aneezahs, that inhabit the 
 Desert, some two marches from Bagdad. These 
 horses sometimes stand very high for Arabs, con- 
 stantly running up to fifteen hands. They are not 
 pure bred, and they claim their origin from the Nedjd 
 Arab stallion and the Turcoman mare ; the grounds 
 of the tribe being on the route for caravans passing 
 up from the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea. The 
 
BREEDS OF HORSES USED IN INDIA. 2S7 
 
 Turcoman horse stands very high for an Eastern 
 horse, and if all the feats which are related of him, 
 or a twentieth part of them, are true, he must be a 
 very superior animal. This Aneezah tribe is shut 
 out by an almost impassable desert, to cross which 
 the water of the Kafila, for both men and cattle, has 
 to be carried on camels to Bussorah. The tribe was 
 too poor to send horses to a market, along the road 
 to which water had thus to be carried for them : and 
 so, until about eighteen years ago, the Aneezah 
 Arab was not known in India. About that time, an 
 European, travelling through Persia and Bagdad to 
 India, bought a horse from this Aneezah tribe, took 
 him down the Tigris and Euphrates, and shipped 
 him at Bussorah for Calcutta. The horse was much 
 larger than the Arab horse before imported; and 
 running a race at Calcutta against other Arabs, he 
 turned out so superior to them, that his fame was sent 
 back by the merchants all the way to the port where 
 he was shipped — Bussorah. This accident served to 
 establish the trade with the Aneezahs, and was the 
 origin of the importation of the large Aneezah Arab. 
 Since then, many have run. Probably the largest 
 and best was the famous Elepor. However, the very 
 best performances of the large Aneezah Arabs have 
 been quite equalled by the smaller, or Nedjd Arabs ; 
 such were Minuet, Child of the Islands, Glendower, 
 Selim, and many others. So great, however, at one 
 time was the fame of the Aneezah horse Elepor in 
 
288 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 Calcutta, that in many races he was only allowed to 
 run on giving his opponents a stone ; and most pro- 
 bably, at heavy weights, none of the Nedjd horses 
 could have vied with him. 
 
 It is worthy of notice that, with reference to carry- 
 ing weight, the Arab horse runs in exact contrast to 
 the thoroughbred English, whose best blood is de- 
 rived from him. It is notorious in the English race- 
 horse, that the tall horse cannot carry high racing 
 weights, though in England they are very much 
 lighter than what we put on our Arabs on race- 
 courses in this country ; but that the low horse, that 
 cannot race under light weights, or compete success- 
 fully with the larger and longer-striding horse, can 
 beat the latter if high racing weights are used. In 
 India the low Arab horse cannot compete with the 
 taller horse at heavy weights, either on a racecourse 
 or across country : and thus we have many races, 
 weight for inches. To look at these low, sturdy-built 
 horses, you would think they could gallop under any 
 weight ; but the trial will undeceive you. I have 
 known two pounds above eight stone two pounds 
 make to a flying galloway the difference of many 
 seconds in a two-mile race. To the large horse, on 
 the other hand, a stone often makes very little 
 difference ; and the horse who cannot run his mile 
 and a half in less than two minutes fifty-seven 
 seconds with eight stone seven pounds, will run the 
 same distance with eleven stone on his back in three 
 
BREEDS OF HORSES USED IN INDIA. 289 
 
 minutes four seconds. In England I should sup- 
 pose that the two and a half stone would make 
 a difference to a racehorse of nearly double that 
 number of seconds in the same distance. In short, 
 nine stone is considered a very high racing weight 
 there, and is often almost the top weight put 
 upon the best horse, handicapped for the great 
 handicaps. 
 
 To return to the Arab horse. The favourite 
 colours are the different grays. The neclah, that 
 is, gray with a blue skin, is generally more hardy 
 than the Sabza gray, with a light-coloured skin; 
 and the feet of the former are more generally black 
 than those of the latter. The bay and brown of 
 different shades, and the chestnuts are also favourites. 
 Except of these three colours you very rarely 
 indeed see an Arab horse of blood, very, very few 
 blacks having contributed to the fame of the Arab. 
 On the whole, the chestnut horse, and the dark 
 chestnut, or the mowa, as he is called here, from being 
 the colour of that fruit, are the most courageous. 
 The dark-coloured also are not fiery, and they are 
 more generally weight carriers. There are more gray 
 Arab racers than of any other colour. The roans are 
 common, but not in the highest castes ; and I have 
 never seen an Arab piebald or parti-coloured, 
 though there are Persian horses of mixed colours 
 in the dealers' stables. 
 
 The high-caste Arab, like most blood horses, goes 
 
 19 
 
290 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 rather near the ground, and thus the Arab generally 
 has got a bad name for tripping in his walk. He 
 will go at full speed over rock and stone, when 
 the soil is not visible, or up and down the sides of a 
 precipice, and never make a mistake if properly 
 handled ; but many of the highest caste, the Nedjds 
 especially, appear to know but two paces, the walk 
 and the full gallop. They evidently inherit this with 
 the blood ; for colts that could not have been more 
 than backed in Arabia, have this style of going. 
 Thejr seem to be unhappy if you wish them to go at 
 a hand-gallop. 
 
 The points of the highest caste Arab horse as 
 compared with the English thorough-bred, are as 
 follow : the head is more beautifully formed, and 
 more intelligent ; the forehead broader ; the muzzle 
 finer ; the eye more prominent, more sleepy-looking 
 in repose, more brilliant when the animal is excited. 
 The ear is more beautifully picked, and of exquisite 
 shape and sensitiveness. On the back of the trained 
 hunter, the rider scarcely requires to keep his eye on 
 anything but the ears of his horse, which give indi- 
 cations of everything that his ever-watchful eye 
 catches sight of. The nostril is not always so open 
 in a state of rest, and indeed often looks tliick and 
 closed ; but in excitement, and when the lungs are in 
 full play from the animal being at speed, it expands 
 greatly, and the membrane shows scarlet and as if on 
 fire. The game-cock throttle — that most exquisite 
 
BREEDS OE HORSES USED IN INDIA. 291 
 
 formation of the throat and jaws of the blood-horse — 
 is not so commonly seen in the Arab as in the 
 thorough-bred English racehorse ; nor is the head 
 quite so lean. The jaws, for the size of the head, are 
 perhaps more apart, giving more room for the ex- 
 pansion of the windpipe. The point where the head 
 is put on to the neck is quite as delicate as in the 
 English horse. This junction has much more to do 
 with the mouth of the horse than most people are 
 aware of, and on it depends the pleasure or otherwise 
 of the rider. 
 
 The bones, from the eye down towards the lower 
 part of the head, should not be too concave, or of a 
 deer's form ; for this in the Arab, as in the English 
 horse, denotes a violent temper, though it is very 
 beautiful to look at. Proceeding to the neck, we 
 notice that the Arab stallion has rarely the crest that 
 an English stallion has. He has a strong, light, and 
 muscular neck, a little short, perhaps, compared to 
 the other, and thick. In the pure breeds the neck 
 runs into the shoulders very gradually; and 
 generally, if the horse has a pretty good crest, comes 
 down rather perpendicularly into the shoulders ; but 
 often, if he is a little ewe-necked, which is not 
 uncommon with the Arab, it runs in too straight, and 
 low down into the shoulders. The Arab horse, how- 
 ever, rarely carries his head, when he is being ridden, 
 so high in proportion as the English. He is not so 
 well topped, which I attribute to the different way he 
 
 19—2 
 
292 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 is reared, and to his not being broken in regularly, 
 like the English horse, before he is put to work. His 
 shoulders are not so flat and thin, and he is thicker 
 through in these parts generally for his size than the 
 English thorough-bred horse. His girth does not show 
 so deep, that is, he does not look so deep over 
 the heart; but between the knees and behind the 
 saddle, where the English horse very often falls off, 
 the Arab is barrel-ribbed ; and this gives him his 
 wonderful endurance and his great constitutional 
 points. This also prevents him from getting 
 knocked up in severe training or under short allow- 
 ance of food, and in long marches. 
 
 His chest is quite broad enough and deep enough 
 for either strength or bottom. The scapula, or 
 shoulder-blade, is both in length and backward in- 
 clination, compared to the humerus, or upper bone of 
 the arm, quite as fine in the high-caste Arab as in the 
 English horse, while both bones are generally better 
 furnished with muscles, better developed, and feel 
 firmer to the hand. But some of the very fastest 
 Arabs have their fore-legs very much under them : 
 indeed, so much, that no judge would buy an English 
 horse so made. Yet, whether it be that this form 
 admits of the joints between these bones becoming 
 more opened, when the horse extends himself, or 
 whatever be the cause, it is a fact that blood-horses 
 thus made are almost always fast horses. The upper 
 part of their shoulder-blade seems to run back under 
 
BEEEDS OF HOUSES USED IN INDIA. 293 
 
 the front part of the saddle, when they are going 
 their best. 
 
 This formation is most common in the lower-sized 
 Arab, and apparently makes up to him for his defi- 
 ciency in height. The very finest actioned Arabs 
 have had this peculiarity of form. They are rather 
 apt to become chafed at the elbow- points by the 
 girths, and almost require to have saddles made on 
 purpose for them. The elbow-point, that essential 
 bone, which for the sake of leverage should be pro- 
 minent, is fine in the Arab, and generally plays clear 
 of the body. The fore-arm is strong and muscular, 
 and is pretty long ; the knee square, with a good 
 speedy cut for the size of the animal, equal to the 
 English horse ; while below the knee the Arab shines 
 very conspicuously, having a degree of power there, 
 both in the suspensor ligaments and flexor tendons, 
 far superior in proportion to his size to the English 
 horse. These are distinct and away from the shank 
 bone ; they give a very deep leg, and act mechani- 
 cally to great advantage. 
 
 The bone looks small, but then it is very dense ; 
 the hollow which contains the marrow being very 
 small, and the material solid, more like ivory than 
 bone, heavy and close-grained. The flexor tendons 
 are nearly as large and thick as the cannon bone. 
 The pasterns and their joints are quite in keeping 
 with the bones above them, and are not so long, 
 straight, and weak as those of the English horse. 
 
to 
 
 294 WILD SPOETS OF INDIA. 
 
 The feet are generally In the same proportion ; but 
 the Arabs themselves appear to be very careless in 
 their treatment of them. The body or centre-piece 
 of the Arab horse has rarely too great length. This 
 is a very uncommon fault in the pure breed ; and 
 there is no breed of horses that are more even in. this 
 respect than the Arab. Behind this, we come to a 
 great peculiarity in the breed — his croup. I might 
 say an Arab horse is known by it : he is so much 
 more beautifully made in his hind quarters, and in 
 the way his tail is put in, than most other breeds. 
 His loins are good ; he is well coupled ; his quarters 
 are powerful, and his tail carried high : and this 
 even in castes that have very little more than a high- 
 bred stallion to recommend them. The straight- 
 dropped hind leg is always a recommendation, and 
 almost all racing Arabs have it ; and this, when 
 extended, brings the hind foot under the stirrup, and 
 the propellors being of this shape give a vast stride, 
 without fear of overreach. The thighs and hocks 
 are good ; the latter very rarely know either kind of 
 spavin or curbs. The points and processes are pre- 
 eminently well adapted for the attachment of the 
 muscles ; while the flexor tendons of the hind legs 
 generally correspond with those of the fore. The 
 hocks are not so much let down, nor the hind legs 
 so grayhound-like, as in the thorough-bred English 
 horse. In stride, too, he is somewhat different, in- 
 asmuch as it is a rounder way of going, and is not 
 
BKEEDS OF HOESES USED IN INDIA. 295 
 
 so extended or so near the ground, but is more like 
 a bound. However, there are exceptions ; and I 
 have bred pure Arabs whose stride, for their size, 
 was very extended, and quite like that of English 
 racehorses. 
 
 It is thought by many that the large size of the 
 Arab horse of the present day has been obtained by 
 the Arabs putting their horses to English mares. 
 How these could be obtained in the desert cannot 
 be explained ; though since the Crimean war, mares 
 might have found their way into Turkey, and thus 
 to the desert : but there has not been time yet for 
 us to see their produce. I am inclined to think that 
 the Arab sheik is much too proud of his own breed 
 to cross with such English mares as could be picked 
 up in this way. It is much more likely that the 
 size of the present Arab is derived from some Eastern 
 race, such as I have before described the Turcoman 
 to be. 
 
 I had almost forgotten to mention two other pecu- 
 liarities in the Aneezah Arab horses : one is the 
 great prominence in the forehead which some of 
 them, but not all, have ; and the other is that they 
 are not marked at the root of the ears with the 
 firing-iron, like the Nedjd and other Arab horses. 
 Sometimes, however, the dealers in Bombay mark 
 them. The mark which is put on the highest form, 
 of Nedjd horse is a very fine crescent: it is not more 
 than half an inch from point to point of the horns of 
 
296 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 the crescent, and the firing iron used must be very 
 fine indeed. 
 
 The breeds brought for sale from Bussorah, 
 Bushire, and the Gulf, to Bombay, are very nume- 
 rous. There are a great many colts, thirteen hands 
 three inches to fourteen hands high, too small for our 
 regular cavalry and artillery, many of which are 
 bought for the irregular cavalry. The generality 
 of the remounts for the Government are Gulf and 
 Persian horses : and some are of great power. The 
 price for remounts varies, but is generally from five 
 hundred and fifty to six hundred rupees. If these 
 were fine Arab horses, they would command three 
 times this amount. Yet some people suppose that the 
 Bombay and Madras mounted branches have Arab 
 horses : whereas there is as much difference between 
 their horses and high-caste Arabs, as there is between 
 a half-bred horse and a thorough-bred in England. 
 But the}- are strong and enduring ; and among them, 
 here and there, is a fine Arab thrown in, which falls 
 to the lot of any officer entitled to have a remount. 
 The Gulf horses are so called because bred on the 
 shores of the Persian Gulf. They are out of Persian 
 mares by Arab horses, and are really half-bred, or 
 better. 
 
 In former years, before the late terrible mutiny 
 occurred, and caused so great a strain in all the horse- 
 marts in India, a very good three-parts-bred hunter, 
 or a small Nedjd horse, equal to twelve stone weight, 
 
EKEEDS OF HORSES USED IN INDIA. 297 
 
 could be picked up in the Bombay stables for 700 
 rupees ; while at present, the same sort of horse 
 cannot be bought for under 900 or 1,000 rupees ; 
 and if you want size and blood, for every inch above 
 fourteen hands you may reckon 250 rupees. You 
 could pick up a fine maiden horse at from 1,200 
 to 1,500 rupees, and, if a real judge, might by 
 chance fall upon a good racer. But now, if you 
 want to get a very fine-looking large horse, you 
 would have to pay 1,800 to 2,000 rupees— 180Z. to 
 200Z. — for him. Some of the small high-bred Arab 
 horses have great courage. I have had some off 
 whose backs I have speared and held bears and 
 large boars, and who, after having been severely cut 
 by the hog, have again and again gone close enough 
 to let me kill him with the sabre, after I had lost my 
 spear. They make first-rate shooting horses; and 
 if the rider had it in him, and would risk his life, 
 I have little doubt that a good spearsman might spear 
 a tiger off the back of one of these blood Arab 
 horses, if, as is often the case, the tiger took across 
 the plain from one jungle to another. I have 
 speared and killed a panther off a Deccan mare. 
 Other panthers and numbers of bears have been 
 speared and killed by hunters in the Deccan, and 
 perhaps other parts of India, off Arab and country- 
 bred horses. A bear, however, intimidates horses that 
 are not afraid of hog or panthers, though in reality 
 not nearly so formidable an animal as the latter. 
 
298 WILD SPORTS OE INDIA. 
 
 There are many breeds of horses throughout 
 Bengal and Hindoostan, besides those bred in the 
 Government studs, with which I am but imperfectly 
 acquainted. There have been, every now and 
 then, some very fast country-breds from imported 
 thorough-bred English stallions and mares ; but of 
 thousands bred, only now and then there comes out 
 one which can compete with a first-rate Arab or 
 Australian horse. I have no opinion of the stud- 
 bred horses, and they are cursed with that incurable 
 disease bursattee, which is scarcely known among 
 any breeds in the southern parts of India. 
 
 I have bred horses for many years in the Deccan ; 
 and if I had chosen to sell my colts, when I had 
 sometimes high offers for them, I might have carried 
 on a lucrative trade : for I am quite convinced that 
 no foreign horse that is imported into India — except 
 the Arab, which comes from a hot climate — can 
 work in the sun, and in all weathers, like the horse 
 bred in the Deccan. Now, in the Mahratta and 
 Pindaree campaigns, those large bodies of free- 
 booters — for they can scarcely be called anything 
 else — procured their horses chiefly from the Deccan : 
 and these wonderful little horses, making their 
 marches of sixty miles a day, for a time, completely 
 baffled our best cavalry. The breed of the Deccan 
 horse, according to the best information from the 
 natives, was highly improved, in the beginning of 
 this century, by a cross of Arab horses and mares, 
 
BREEDS OF HOESES USED IN INDIA. '299 
 
 five hundred of which were obtained by the Nizam 
 and the nobles of the city of Hydrabad, direct from 
 Arabia. This cross shows itself in a very marked 
 manner in the form of the smaller Deccan horse, 
 and especially hi the beautiful small blood mares, 
 bred on the banks of the Beemah river. These 
 are called the Beemateree horse, and very rarely 
 run above fourteen hands to fourteen hands one 
 inch high. They have the fine limbs, broad fore- 
 head, and much of the docility of Arabs, and 
 have been mistaken for them. They have all the 
 enduring properties of the Arab, and are much 
 better adapted for the use of the irregular horse- 
 man than any other bred or imported ; since from 
 the time he is weaned he is put upon his haunches, 
 by being bitted and driven with long rope reins, 
 without any one on his back, and taught in this way 
 to turn by the Mahratta horse-breeder. He is not 
 so fiery as the small and blood Arab ; and whereas 
 the latter, who is probably quite quiet when bought 
 from the dealer's lot, becomes almost wild and quite 
 unmanageable when he is put into the ranks, with 
 his head tied down, a sharp bit in his mouth, and the 
 spurs often involuntarily driven, during the press 
 of the charge, deep into his sides, the Deccan colt, 
 used to the sharp bit and standing -martingale, sub- 
 mits very soon to be broken. The system of rearing 
 the horse adopted by the Mahratta is a peculiar one. 
 He is very careless regarding the horse he puts to 
 
300 WILD SPOETS OF INDIA. 
 
 his mare; and I chiefly account for the goodness 
 of the colt, from the good feeding he gets, and from 
 the blood he inherits from the dam. Before he is 
 weaned, they generally give him plenty of any sort 
 of milk they may have : and as many of the farmers, 
 who rear horses, live far from any town or large 
 village, where they can dispose of the produce of 
 their cows or baffalos, either as milk or ghee (clari- 
 fied butter), they give the milk to their colts. After 
 they are weaned, they give them large quantities 
 of oorud, or moong, and other grain of the bean and 
 vetch kind, which they boil to prevent the colt 
 becoming griped by eating large quantities. They 
 give little dry grain, as it is heating, and requires 
 more mastication than young cattle, with imperfect 
 grinders, will give their food. They feed on kurbee, 
 which is the stalk of the jowaree grain, and full 
 of saccharine matter, as sweet as sugar-cane, and 
 very nutritious. This is far more fattening than 
 any grass, except doob or huryali grass, which is 
 difficult to be procured. After they have weaned 
 their young colts, they sluit them up in a dark stable ; 
 and this plan of shutting them up in the dark and 
 feeding with soft food, encourages their growth. 
 The soft food also does not make them so vicious 
 as half the quantity of dry grain would do, and it is 
 more easily digested. The colt, if quiet to handle 
 and clean, is very rarely taken out of his stables. 
 The chief objection to the system is, that horses 
 
BREEDS OF HORSES USED IN INDIA. 301 
 
 brought up in this way are very apt to shy when 
 alone. 
 
 The great mart for Deccan horses is at a place 
 called Malligaum, about twenty-five miles from 
 Grungakhuir, in the direction of Hydrabad. It is 
 off the road some ten miles, between the former place 
 and Oodgeer. There has been a fair held there from 
 time immemorial. The taxes, levied upon the animals 
 sold there annually, are farmed out by the Nizam's 
 Government for a considerable sum of money ; and 
 the renter of them makes a good thing of it, I doubt 
 not, considering he charges the purchaser ten per 
 cent, on his purchase, besides some two or three 
 rupees per cent, more as choukedaree, watchman's 
 fees, and other taxes. In former years, when the 
 Hydrabad country was more flourishing than it now 
 is, and when, besides the Nizam's contingent cavalry, 
 large bodies of irregular cavalry, kept up by the 
 Nizam and Hydrabad nobles, purchased annually 
 some thousands of colts at the fair, the Mahrattas 
 bred some very fine horses and sent them for sale. 
 
 The fair is held on a low range of stony hills, 
 near the insignificant village of Malligaum. There 
 is a good tank of water; and on the low ground 
 immediately below this there are long, artificial 
 mounds of earth, four or five feet high, and only 
 broad enough to picket a horse on, and these long 
 mounds are the only flat ground in the neighbour- 
 hood. All the horses (except the five hundred that 
 
302 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 can be picketed on these) stand on sloping and un- 
 even ground. For a man who is a judge of what 
 a horse should be, it is no difficult matter to pick 
 out a horse to suit him, if he sees the horse he is 
 buying in moderate condition, or thin, as the Arab 
 horses in the Bombay stables are. But it is a very 
 different thing to buy a colt, so thickly clothed with 
 fat, that you can scarcely make out where his 
 shoulders end and centre-piece begins, or where his 
 hind-quarters commence. 
 
 The rules of the fair are stringent, and are these : 
 the intended purchaser must make his bargain with 
 the horse-owner, before the horse is moved from 
 his fastenings; and then if, upon the horse being 
 exercised — that is, trotted and walked in hand — he 
 is found to be neither lame nor blind, the bargain is 
 concluded. The tax, or duty, must be 'paid ; and 
 it is to insure this, and prevent horses who are so 
 fat from losing their condition by being continually 
 moved from their pickets, that the rule was made. 
 
 However, knowing what was the rule of the fair, I 
 managed one year to buy seven mares and fillies, and 
 another yeax five colts, all after seeing them trotted 
 out. I hardly moved a horse that I was disappointed 
 in, and whose action did not correspond with his 
 figure, and whom I did not consequently buy : nor 
 was I in more than two instances refused the privilege 
 of seeing the horse out. Probably out of seven or 
 eight thousand horses and ponies you will not find a 
 
BREEDS OF HORSES USED IN INDIA. 303 
 
 dozen, excepting the blood mares that are brought 
 with their produce at their heels, about four years 
 old. They are generally two years old, but looking 
 four. This is from the fair having been established, 
 in the first instance, for native horsemen, who like to 
 buy a colt, that they may break him in to their own 
 peculiar exercise : which they can scarcely do after 
 the joints have become stiff and set. These colts 
 are chiefly bred away from the site of the fair, all 
 along the Beemah and other rivers, and where the 
 rich alluvial soils yield their grain abundantly and 
 cheaply. The water, too, of certain rivers is con- 
 sidered better than that of others. 
 
 Within a circle of some sixty or seventy miles 
 from the fair, live the class of farmers who rear the 
 horses sold there. These buy their colts and fillies 
 from among the young animals brought with their 
 dams to the fair; and immediately they have sold 
 their last year's venture, well fattened up, they go 
 across to the other side of the tank, which is set 
 apart for the brood mares and young produce, pur- 
 chase a little colt or filly, and picket him in the 
 place where they had the last, which they have just 
 sold. They have strange notions about the growth 
 of young cattle, measuring the shank bones with 
 a stick or a bit of kurbee, and determining the 
 height they are of necessity to grow to ; forgetting 
 that the size of the sire, of whom they cannot know 
 or find out anything, will chiefly determine this. 
 
304 "WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 The first thing that impresses the visitor to the 
 Malligaum fair is the very many good-looking horses 
 that are collected together. Their general round- 
 ness, caused by their very fat state ; their sleek and 
 shining coats caused by the massalahs, or spices, 
 given them for the double purpose of improving 
 their coats and preventing the large quantity of food 
 from disagreeing with them, combine together to give 
 them good looks ; and there are really among them 
 many very handsome horses. It is when they are put 
 to hard work, with insufficiency of food, that they fall 
 off and get angular and ugly. Many dealers come 
 from the city of Hydrabad, and buy colts at this fair, 
 which they break in for show, and sell to the city 
 nobles and wealthy men for very high sums, some- 
 times as high as 2,400 Hydrabad rupees, 200?. 
 sterling. Like people of other countries who buy 
 horses for show, and therefore require height, the 
 wealthy ones of India like tall horses. This has 
 caused the deterioration of the best Deccan breeds, 
 which, being descended from Arabs, are naturally low 
 in stature. The large horses come from that part of 
 the country which lies between Poonah and Ahmed- 
 nuggur, about Goornuddee and Aligaum, where the 
 Bombay government stud originally was. There 
 were several thorough-bred English horses there, 
 before it was found to be a great loss to Government, 
 and was, therefore, abolished. I believe this stud 
 turned out very few good horses, although the situa- 
 
BREEDS OF HORSES USED IN INDIA. 305 
 
 tion is good and adapted for horses, and though they 
 are bred successfully in the neighbourhood by the 
 natives. A very few Kateewar horses are brought 
 to the fair for sale. The best breeds of this country, 
 formerly celebrated for its fine horses, are, I believe, 
 nearly extinct, and there are markets nearer to 
 Kateewar than the Deccan fair. 
 
 The old Kateewar was a large and blood horse, 
 having, what few large horses have, fine lean heads ; 
 and, with much substance below the knee, they were 
 admirably adapted for cavalry chargers. But govern- 
 ment studs broke up all the native private breeding 
 establishments ; for these latter could only pay, if 
 patronized by Government; the price that the irregu- 
 lar cavalry can afford to pay for colts not being high 
 enough to make the breeder go to much expense, 
 either to keep mares or procure stallions. The 
 Kateewar horses are very commonly of a dun colour, 
 with black points and black manes and tails. Dun 
 is also not an uncommon colour in the Deccanee 
 galloways and ponies. They are notorious for their 
 endurance and hardy constitutions, but equally so for 
 their vice. A great many horses of all sorts are 
 bought at the Malligaum. fair for exportation from the 
 Deccan. They are purchased and taken up by dealers 
 into all the Mahratta States, especially Gwalior, In- 
 dore, and Nagpore. The Hydrahad country alone 
 — that part of the Deccan under the rule of the 
 Nizam — is capable of rearing two or three thousand 
 
 20 
 
306 WILD SPORTS OF IXDIA. 
 
 horses a year, if encouragement was given ; and now, 
 in spite of the anarchy* and misrule, five hundred 
 good colts and fillies could yearly be purchased in it 
 at very low prices, compared with what are paid for 
 Arabs, or with the price of Cape and Australian 
 horses, by the time they are landed in India. Owing 
 to the great demand for all kinds of horses since the 
 mutiny, colts were, last year, forty or fifty per cent, 
 dearer at the fair than usual. In former years the 
 very finest three-year-old colts, in fact the very pick 
 of the fair, could be purchased at from 250 to 350 
 rupees each ; and were it known that an accredited 
 agent of Government would annually visit the fair 
 and pay the last-named price, he might in a few years 
 purchase horses far superior to the present breed. 
 
 The farmers require encouragement and remune- 
 rating prices, and the Mahratta horse breeder, as he 
 is really fond of and understands the animal, would 
 soon produce a very fine breed of horses. 
 
 The Nizam's irregular cavalry regiments in former 
 years, that is before 1S48, procured nearly all their 
 remounts in their own country, chiefly from this 
 fair. In 1837 there were scarcely five Arab horses 
 not belonging to the European officers in the five 
 regiments. They were then, as now, notorious for 
 their very rapid marching. After 1S49, their re- 
 mounts were generally procured from Bombay. I 
 have seen both breeds of horses work, and the well- 
 bred Deccan horse is quite as capable of long march- 
 
BREEDS OF HORSES USED IN INDIA. 307 
 
 ing as the Arab, or at least as such Arabs as the 
 silladars of irregular cavalry can afford to procure. 
 Indeed, if care is taken to admit only the low and 
 blood Beemateree or man-horse, he is capable of 
 working with any horse in the world. He has all the 
 best points of the high-bred Arab without his very 
 fine skin, irritable temper, and rather long pasterns ; 
 and he has generally better feet. The Deccan 
 throughout was the country whence the immense 
 number of horses required by the Mahrattas was 
 supplied. It furnished their armies for a lengthened 
 period, and through many years of warfare. 
 
 The present Deccanee tattoo, or pony, is a won- 
 derful animal. Scarcely tasting any grain before he 
 is put to work, and even then, if the property of a 
 native, very little, he marches with a load that is 
 enough for a pack-horse twice as big as himself. 
 From the time he is foaled, he is brought up on what 
 he can pick up for himself round his village. This, 
 in the hot weather, becomes rather a precarious live- 
 lihood. His growth is thus stunted, and he is often 
 found cat-hammed, and his fore-feet woefully turned 
 out and otherwise more or less debilitated, from the 
 consequences of starvation. But when he has had a 
 few months' good feeding, our ragged friend comes 
 out with a little muscle on him; his small blood 
 head, with its large eyes, is carried a little higher 
 than before ; and to his owner's great delight, if he 
 is a hog-hunter and a light-weight, some fine day he 
 
 20—2 
 
308 WILD SPOUTS OF INDIA. 
 
 finds that the Deecanee tat runs into his hog in 
 rather a short distance, and that he beats heavy 
 riders on large horses. Twenty miles within the 
 hour have been galloped by these little Deccanees, 
 on two occasions which are on record ; once by a 
 little dun mare, and who was only an inch or so 
 above pony height. There was a Deecanee pony in 
 Madras, I think in 1838, who ran his mile and a half 
 in about three minutes and six seconds. I myself, 
 though riding thirteen stone with saddle and all the 
 apparatus for shikar, have killed hog off a small 
 Deccan galloway single-handed, and in the evening, 
 when hog are light and run their best. These horses 
 are generally bays, browns, or chestnuts. There are 
 not many grays among them, nor duns, except of 
 cross-breeds, and among the ponies. The high-bred 
 horse carries his tail very well : this is thin and light, 
 and the muscles for elevating it always in play. The 
 texture of the hair of the tail and the mane is fine. 
 In spite of the disadvantages of being put to work 
 very young, they stand knocking about often till 
 twenty years of age. 
 
 They are all taught to amble at about four and a 
 half to five miles an hour. This pace is very easy 
 to the horseman, and I suppose eventually suits the 
 horse, for he rarely goes lame in work ; and when 
 once he has been broken in to amble, that is, to use 
 and extend the fore and hind feet on the same side 
 together, he rarely, if ever, again walks like an 
 
BKEEDS OF HORSES USED IN INDIA. 309 
 
 English horse ; certainly they get over the ground at 
 this pace very quickly. It requires long experience 
 to buy horses in this district that will not turn out 
 vicious, and it is this that has prevented their being 
 more generally used. But many of the small breed 
 of Deccan horses are as quiet as the high-caste 
 Arabs, and will not fight with any other horse, nor 
 even when dismounted from, will they move from 
 the spot. 
 
 The great drawback to breeding horses in this 
 country is the want of proper grazing meadows. 
 They might perhaps be made at a great cost, but 
 they would have to be regularly watered during all 
 the dry weather, and planted with grass, which 
 would constantly require to be renewed. The great 
 changes in the seasons here, making the ground at 
 one time a swamp, and at another parched and 
 cracked and hard as iron, so that no grass can exist 
 upon it, are almost insurmountable difficulties to 
 having good, proper grazing paddocks. Hence the 
 alternative which is adopted by the natives of stabling 
 their colts in dark stables directly after being weaned, 
 and feeding them on grain, oorud, moong, &c, which 
 is boiled, in order not to disagree with them. Young 
 animals, whose grinders have not grown, will not 
 masticate hard dry grain ; and grass will not of 
 itself make them grow up strong, nor develop their 
 muscles. Again, as it is contrary to the custom of 
 the country to geld colts, they would require very 
 
310 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 strong enclosures to confine a stallion in, and then 
 there could be only one in a field. And further, 
 there being, for many months in the year, no green 
 grass, makes this plan impossible. It has, however, 
 been tried. The result was that colts let loose took 
 so much out of their legs by continually galloping 
 over the hard ground, that, when required to be 
 put to work, their legs were found to be too much 
 injured to stand it. The old plan of turning out 
 thorough-bred colts in large paddocks has been, I 
 believe, abolished in England, whether from a similar 
 cause, I do not know, and now they have very small 
 paddocks, in yards attached to their loose boxes. I 
 have tried making them in this country. Turning out 
 ponies, to which no grain is given, answers very well, 
 but then they always remain under-sized. Again, if 
 you want them to grow, and give them grain for that 
 purpose, they become excited, and take too much 
 exercise. Yet, without considerable exercise, when 
 young, the colt grows up deficient in size below the 
 knee. I know of no plan, but by exercising them as 
 much as possible after weaning until three years old, 
 and driving them clothed by means of long rope reins 
 and with a man running behind. At three years 
 old, I put up a light and good horseman, and have 
 them gently ridden ; or, what is very good, break 
 them in, if fillies, to the curricle, the weight of which 
 is on the back. 
 > It is a notorious fact that Arab colts, bred from 
 
BREEDS OF HOUSES USED IN INDIA. 311 
 
 either pure imported stallions or mares, will not come 
 to their strength and size until they are six, or 
 oftener seven years old ; and I believe that this light 
 make of the produce of Arab stallions, even with 
 other than Arab mares (the latter can scarcely be 
 procured), was the cause of the East Indian Govern- 
 ment taking to the English stallion, and giving up 
 the use of the Arab. But there is a great tendency in 
 this climate, among colts bred from any thoroughbred 
 horses, to run very light below the knee ; however, 
 they continue to grow in this particular, till six or 
 seven years old, and after. I can never believe that 
 any half-bred horses, such as are used in England to 
 get carriage horses, are adapted to get produce fit for 
 cavalry purposes in India. Even putting out of the 
 question that these coarse-bred horses cannot stand 
 the sun, their thick skins, long coats, and heavy forms 
 denote their inaptitude for fast work in the tropics. 
 In the next place, the mares in this country are low 
 in stature, and small in size, being usually from four- 
 teen hands to fourteen hands three inches high. If 
 less than this — the average size in the Deccan — they 
 are not fitted for being covered by a stallion sixteen 
 hands high, and of large bulk. No breed can be 
 improved by so great a disparity in the sexes. The 
 produce will be entirely mis-shapen, and their bodies 
 'and limbs out of all proportion. The feet also of 
 these large horses, if not well bred, are notoriously 
 large and flat ; the heated and dried up soil of India 
 
312 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 would, therefore, soon incurably lame them. It is 
 natural, too, to suppose that like will, in this as in 
 other particulars, get like. With the tide now turned 
 against Arabs, for stallions, at the Cape and in India, 
 I will nevertheless prophesy that at no very distant 
 date they will again come into favour. The fact is, 
 that, until Government have both their own brood 
 mares as well as their own stallions, breeding will not 
 have fair play. It will never do to let the zemindars, 
 or landholders, be the owners of the mares, on the 
 goodness of which that of the produce depends 
 more than upon the good qualities of the horse : 
 not that I am at all an advocate for Government 
 studs; but I would procure some fine Arab stal- 
 lions, and keep them in certain districts, which had 
 been approved of as adapted for the breed of horses. 
 I would not charge the zemindars for their use, 
 but I would only allow fine mares to be covered 
 by them. 
 
 I would not purchase the colts as yearlings, nor 
 until they were quite four years old. I would give 
 handsome prizes for the best looking colts and fillies, 
 annually. All the fillies that were fit I would pur- 
 chase for the mounted services, as I would have all 
 the colts gelded directly they had been purchased. 
 After four years' service, the inspector of the produce 
 should pick out all the mares that had distinguished 
 themselves for having worked sound, and which 
 seemed especially fitted for breeding horses adapted 
 
BREEDS OE HORSES USED IN INDIA. 313 
 
 for horse artillery and cavalry purposes. These they 
 should sell by auction to such zemindars or others as 
 were known to be careful breeders, and rearers of 
 stock. I would mark these mares, and take parti- 
 cular care that they were put to other horses adapted 
 to their forms, and not to their own sizes, who might 
 be still in the district. It has been too much the 
 fashion to suppose that because an Arab is a fine 
 racehorse he must of necessity be a proper stallion, 
 after his racing days are done, for getting colts fit 
 for troop horses. I have now and then seen large 
 and blood racing Arabs, which have been highly 
 adapted for getting fine blood horses for the service ; 
 but they are the exceptions. 
 
 It will be proved, I think, as a general rule 
 throughout the world, that in whatever country 
 horses are cheap, and easily procurable, that a great 
 number of the inhabitants of that country are horse- 
 men : for instance, take the Hungarians, the Arabs, 
 the Cossacks, Turcomans, Circassians, Mohammedans 
 of India, the North American Indian tribes, and the 
 Mexicans. And it is also as clearly demonstrable 
 that those nations whose livelihood depends upon 
 their horses, and, indeed, whose lives and freedom 
 are staked upon the excellence and endurance of 
 their horses, are most careful and particular in their 
 breeds. Of these the Arabs and Turcomans are 
 perhaps the most particular, being, as they are, in a 
 constant state of predatory warfare. Before our 
 
314 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 rule in India, the warrior races, both Rajpoots and 
 Mohammedans, bred very fine horses and very fine 
 camels, and they were most careful how they were 
 bred and trained, and took as much pains to teach 
 them paces adapted for their peculiar kind of war- 
 fare as do the Arabs and Turcomans of the present 
 day ; but the fine breeds of native horses are fast 
 disappearing, since, as I have in another place re- 
 marked, the establishment of Government studs, 
 because there is no market profitable enough to 
 encourage or support them. It is very doubtful 
 whether the fine breeds of Kateewar, and Berma- 
 teree, and Man horses of the Deccan, will ever be 
 resuscitated ; and if they are, they will be only by 
 the liberal encouragement of Government. India is 
 so cheap a country for rearing the animal, that it 
 does seem an extraordinary thing that a regular 
 cavalry trooper's horse should cost twice and three 
 times as much there as in England, but such is the 
 case. 
 
 In the year 1843, under the name of " Single 
 Snafne," I wrote some articles which were published 
 in the only sporting periodical then extant in Cal- 
 cutta. My suggestions as far as mounting cavalry 
 troopers on geldings and mares, were followed some 
 years after by Government; and the first trials, I 
 think, were made in the Madras presidency, where 
 perhaps it was less required than in Bengal, from 
 the fact of the remounts being either Arab, Gulf, 
 
BREEDS OF HORSES USED IN INDIA. 315 
 
 or Persian horses. Whether any one else after- 
 wards jumped to the same conclusions, without having 
 seen my very humble articles ; or whether, taking up 
 my idea and having some interest, or opportunity, 
 which enabled him to persuade the Government 
 authorities to give the plan a trial, I know not ; but 
 true it is that the system became almost universal 
 throughout the Indian mounted branches, and equally 
 true, that I never received one word of acknowledg- 
 ment, though it could not have been difficult to find 
 out who was " Single Snaffle," from the editor of the 
 Sporting Review, who published the articles in ques- 
 tion. In 1851, the late lamented General Gilbert was 
 the president of a committee, sitting in Calcutta, to 
 report upon the Bengal studs, and it was thought 
 not improbable that their abolition would have been 
 agreed on, because of their great cost to Govern- 
 ment. I then brought under notice the Hydrabad 
 Deccan, as being well worth attention as a breeding 
 country for horses ; and in the same memorandum I 
 particularly set forth that the purchasing of colts 
 there for the remounts would not answer, unless 
 Government was prepared to go to the expense of an 
 establishment for bringing them up and breaking 
 them in, from the time they were purchased at the 
 fair until they became four and a half or five years 
 old and were fit for service, as it was impossible to 
 purchase horses in any quantity above three years old; 
 the fair at Malligaum having been established to suit 
 
316 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 native horsemen. I believe that commissariat officers 
 at stations in the Madras presidency were applied to 
 for their opinions. What these were I never learnt, 
 but concluded that they were not favourable. In- 
 deed, they could scarcely be so, because very few of 
 these officers could know anything either of the 
 colts and fillies brought for sale to the Malligaum 
 fair, or of the generality of Deccanee horses, except 
 those ridden by natives ; and these, being fed full of 
 hot spices and massalahs, fattened up for show, and 
 having little work, are often very vicious. 
 
 Had the opinions of old officers, who commanded 
 the Nizam's irregular cavalry regiments from 1S38 
 to 1848, been asked, they could have given their 
 testimony to the breed of Deccan horses; for they 
 had worked them in all seasons, and marched them 
 distances which very few regiments of cavalry in any 
 country have been able to exceed. I remarked in 
 my memorandum in 1851, that every year the breed 
 in the Deccan was deteriorating, and that unless 
 Government at once took upon itself to encourage it, 
 it would go on decreasing and deteriorating. The 
 mutiny, however, has made it so difficult to procure 
 horses, that thousands, undersized and of inferior 
 castes, have been purchased which otherwise would 
 never have been accepted. But such of these as have 
 gone to Hindoostan must not be taken for well-bred 
 Deccanee horses. 
 
 In two or three years we shall be able to judge of 
 
BREEDS OF HOUSES USED IN INDIA. 317 
 
 the working of the different breeds of horses that 
 have been lately brought from the Cape and Aus- 
 tralia in such large quantities, to take the place of 
 the numbers lost and destroyed during the muti- 
 nies. The Cape horse I have had but little expe- 
 rience of. He is [reported to be both hardy and 
 enduring in his own country ; but the heat there and 
 in India is very different. I have seen some teams, 
 composed altogether of Cape horses, in the Madras 
 horse artillery. The pole horses looked fine animals, 
 but were much injured in the hocks, and were deeply 
 fired there. This, of course, for draught, was a 
 serious defect. They appear to be generally good- 
 tempered — much more so than the Australian and 
 New South Wales horses., which used to be quite 
 unbroken and almost unmanageable when first sent 
 over. They have very much distinguished them- 
 selves as racers and as carriage-horses ; but other- 
 wise I consider them to be the most difficult horses 
 to break of any that can be found. Those that are 
 brought up in stables, handled young and saddled 
 early, may be exceptions ; but I should suppose that 
 they would be too expensive for Government to pur- 
 chase for remounts. I do not think that their feet 
 will stand the hot climate. In a couple of years, how- 
 ever, they will have had a pretty fair trial. Looking 
 at the matter in a political point of view, and as it 
 concerns the benefit of India — of the governed as 
 well as the Government — there can be no doubt that 
 
318 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 if horses, fit for the service, can be bred in the 
 country, it would be much better that they should 
 be taken for remounts than that Government should 
 expend money on imported horses. For every colt 
 or filly sold by a farmer enables him to cultivate 
 so much more ground, to grow so much more grain, 
 and to employ so much more labour : all which tends 
 to the improvement of the country. 
 
 I am well aware that much is expected from the 
 manufacture of blue cloth in the Bombay presidency, 
 which will go to the Arabs in payment for horses ; 
 and I fancy that the trade in horses with the Cape 
 and Australia is advantageous both to England and 
 India. Yet neither of these can so directly benefit 
 the country as the breeding of horses, which causes 
 the circulation of money and the extended cultivation 
 of tbe soil. It is also safer to have a home-market, 
 which no war can affect, than a foreign one, which 
 will always be more or less liable to be affected by 
 war. A war with Turkey or Persia would very 
 much cripple the trade in horses from the Gulf, 
 Bushire, and Bussorah, from which places our 
 Madras and Bombay mounted branches are at 
 present furnished. A war with any European 
 power that possessed a large fleet might seriously 
 interrupt the importation of either Cape or Austra- 
 lian remounts. 
 
 With the exception of Gulf and Arab horses, 
 which are born and bred in a climate nearly as hot, 
 
BREEDS OF HORSES USED EST INDIA. 319 
 
 no colonial or English horses can work in the sun 
 like animals bred in India; and if the Government 
 would encourage the breeders of horses here, I am 
 quite sure that in a few years very good remounts 
 might be purchased at from three hundred to four 
 hundred rupees a head. These would always be 
 cheaper than any imported horses; because to the 
 original price of the latter, not only has the price 
 of freight to be added, but insurance against the 
 great risk of loss or injury to the animal on ship- 
 board. 
 
320 MILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 (No. II.) 
 
 ON LIGHT IRREGULAE CAVALRY. 
 
 The Dragoon and his Accoutrements too heavy — Proof of this — 
 A Horse made for Speed cannot carry great Weights — Light 
 Cavalry the most effective — How the Weight may be reduced — 
 Prices of Horses — Saddle and Bridle used by Native Horsemen 
 — Native methods of breaking-in Horses — Comparison as to 
 Efficiency and Cost between Regular and Irregular Cavalry — 
 Dress and Arms of Irregular Cavalry — How Infantry can be 
 successfully attacked by them — Movements — Cavalry in 
 Jungles — Constitution of a Regiment — Non-commissioned 
 Officers — Pay — The Spear — Conclusion. 
 
 The perfection to which the weapons used by 
 artillery and infantry have been brought in the pre- 
 sent day, and the consequent greatly increased power 
 of those two arms, make it advisable that nations 
 should turn much of their attention to the improve- 
 ment of their cavalry. It appears also the duty of 
 those who have had experience in that arm, and who 
 know what great efforts it is capable of, to put upon 
 record the fruits of that experience ; in the hope that 
 Government, laying aside all prejudice in the matter, 
 will fairly test the advantages or disadvantages of 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 321 
 
 suggestions put forward by its officers. For they 
 naturally feel a pride in the successes and efficiency 
 of their own branch of the services, as well as deep 
 mortification that, while all around them improve- 
 ment is going on, it alone is not only not progressing, 
 but may be said to have deteriorated, during the last 
 hundred years. 
 
 There is a preconceived opinion (which, as a 
 cavalry soldier, I utterly differ from,) that cavalry 
 cannot make an impression on artillery or infantry, 
 at the commencement of an engagement; and that it 
 cannot successfully attack either until they have been 
 shattered and broken, or are on the move, and then 
 only on favourable ground. Cavalry, therefore, is 
 not now employed, as of yore, to decide battles. It 
 is kept back sometimes until the flight of the enemy, 
 and the end of battle — the men, sick from vainly 
 longing to attack ; the horses, tired out and wearied, 
 from having been without food for perhaps twelve 
 hours, and from being crushed with the weight of 
 the modern dragoon and his cumbersome accoutre- 
 ments. This arm, then, is only employed to cut up 
 a flying enemy, or to intercept the baggage. Either 
 duty is repulsive to the feelings of a soldier, and 
 especially of a soldier on horseback. 
 
 Now, it appears to me, that the error which the 
 exeat nations of Europe have fallen into, in the 
 formation of their cavalry, is in imposing such an 
 excessive weight on the horses, in riders and accou- 
 
 21 
 
322 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 trements. Instead, too, of reducing tiiis enormous 
 weight by recruiting only light, active men, and 
 putting them into light saddles, disencumbering them 
 of sabretaches, valises, and other useless accoutre- 
 ments, they have retained the heavy soldier and his 
 heavy accoutrements, and vainly endeavoured to 
 obtain an animal to carry it all. 
 
 The premises of my argument are as follow : but 
 if my reader dissents from the premises so laid down, 
 of course nothing on earth can make us come to the 
 same conclusion : — 
 
 Cavalry, to be really effective, must be as rapid as 
 possible in execution, fearless, and enduring under 
 privation and fatigue. To enable the horses to pos- 
 sess these qualities, they must be of high blood, and 
 thoroughbred, or as nearly so as possible. I need 
 scarcely remark that a thoroughbred horse is from 
 his very conformation — his long pasterns, light limbs, 
 and backward inclined shoulders (which give him 
 vast stride), together with his elastic tendons and 
 ligaments — unable and unfit by nature to carry heavy 
 weights : and that, in consequence of possessing the 
 qualities which ensure speed. Nature herself, there- 
 fore, has set her limit upon the thoroughbred horse, 
 as to his capability of carrying weight. If, then, you 
 expect to be successful in breeding thoroughbred 
 horses to carry two and twenty stone, and with it to 
 move at great speed, you are striving directly against 
 the laws of nature, and you are trying to breed 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 323 
 
 animals which never have existed and never can 
 exist. They would be a new and, in short, an impos- 
 sible genus. You can no more give the blood-horse 
 the limbs and action of a cart-horse, than you can 
 breed a deer to look, or work, like an ox, or give the 
 one the capability of draught that God has given to 
 the other. Again, if it were possible to teach this 
 thoroughbred horse, by making him sufficiently 
 shorten his stride, to move safely under this crushing 
 weight, his stride would be so much shortened that 
 he would have no pace. Consequently, he would not 
 be fast enough for modern warfare ; and such 
 cavalry would be mown down and annihilated by 
 artillery and infantry, armed as they are for long 
 distance practice, before they could move across the 
 intervening ground to attack them. In a word, the 
 form that gives speed precludes carrying heavy 
 weight ; the form that gives the power of carrying 
 weight precludes the possibility of great speed. I 
 assert, therefore, that the cavalry of the great nations 
 of modern Europe are on the horns of one of these 
 two dilemmas : they are either mounted on horses 
 that are strong enough to carry these enormous 
 weights at a slow pace, and in that case they must 
 be kept so far from the field of battle that by the 
 time they arrive on it, even if not too late for 
 the crisis at which they are required, their horses 
 are fatigued, blown, and useless for the attack; 
 or else, heavy weights are mounted on thorough- 
 
 21—2 
 
324 WILD SPOUTS OF INDIA. 
 
 bred horses, unfit to carry them, and thus they, too, 
 are useless. 
 
 In the days of chivalry, when men were cased in 
 armour, I doubt much whether they weighed more 
 on horseback than the modern horse soldier ; but the 
 knight never attempted to ride a palfrey in battle. 
 His heavy horse was fast enough for his work ; 
 because he had to move only a couple of hundred 
 paces, and that against archers, or infantry not armed 
 with fire-arms. His armour made him and his horse 
 proof against almost everything but the cloth-yard 
 shaft of the English bowman, and he was out of 
 range at two hundred yards. But when artillery 
 and rifle-armed infantry are the opponents of 
 cavalry, what can the latter effect, if mounted on 
 horses that cannot carry them at speed for at least a 
 mile and a half ? If cavalry, therefore, is to take its 
 proper and noble part in the battle-field, and not be 
 kept merely for pursuit — in which case, before long, 
 no honourable man will enter it — the weight of the 
 man and his accoutrements must be proportioned to 
 the build and power of the horse: and then it will 
 become the most formidable of all the three arms on 
 the field of battle. It will be an irresistible missile, 
 launched at the speed almost of the cannon-ball, 
 sweeping armies off the field, riding down everything 
 in its impetuous rush, like a vast swollen river in its 
 devastating course, not to be turned by any impedi- 
 ments. Sucn cavalry will be as far superior to the 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 325 
 
 present cavalry, as the highest tempered sword-blade 
 is to one of soft iron ; and though like a cannon-ball 
 with ten thousand steel points, will not pass over and 
 miss an enemy by ricochetting, nor will time be lost 
 in calculating distances. It will mow down the foe 
 both near and far ; it will require no limbering or 
 unlimbering, no elevating or depressing, no loading 
 or sponging. There will be no missing fire ; nothing, 
 in fact, is required, but the native courage of the 
 most noble animal in the world — the blood-horse — 
 aided by the spur, the spear, the sabre, and the 
 indomitable energy of men, like those who rode the 
 death-ride in the ranks at Balaklava ; or like the 
 Carthaginian cavalry under Asdrubal, in the battle 
 of Cannae, who, after driving the Roman cavalry 
 opposed to them off the field, rode down forty 
 thousand of the famed legions of Imperial Rome, 
 and swept them from the face of the earth. You 
 may depend upon it, that the Carthaginian cavalry 
 were mounted on thoroughbred horses like the Barb 
 or Arab of the present day, and that the men were 
 like those of all Eastern races — much lighter-limbed 
 than Europeans. Of course they were Moorish 
 cavalry; and Europe, in after centuries, felt what 
 was the edge of the curved sabre in the hand of the 
 Saracen, mounted on the fleet horse reared in the 
 wilds of Africa. All the ancient sculptures of men 
 on horseback go to prove this. If anything, the 
 men look too tall for the animal, and this favours 
 
326 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 the argument that the horses were small blood- 
 horses ; and, as the men are generally riding bare- 
 backed, it proves that they were an equestrian race. 
 Lately, there appears to have been a move in the 
 right direction; for the East India Company have 
 determined on sending out small men to form the 
 cavalry required by them in lieu of the native regular 
 cavalry, swept away by the late mutiny in Bengal. 
 This was done just before India was brought under 
 the government of the Crown; and whether such 
 enlistment of small, light men will be carried on, has 
 to be proved. It was done, doubtless, under the 
 impression tbat the horses of this country were not 
 powerful enough to carry the great weight imposed 
 upon the English cavalry horse. If the weight of 
 the cavalry soldier required to be reduced to enable 
 the Indian horse to carry him, it was quite as neces- 
 sary to reduce his weight to enable the English horse 
 to carry him ; for the high-bred horse used in this 
 country, whether he be Arab, Gulf — that is, between 
 Arab and Persian — Kateewar, or Deccanee, though 
 a hand lower in height, is far stronger than the 
 English thoroughbred; and he is a much faster 
 and more enduring horse, especially in India, than 
 the half-bred English horse; for though the latter 
 may be actually stronger, yet, if he were fast 
 enough — I might almost write, could go fast enough 
 — would drop down dead under the sun of the 
 tropics. 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 327 
 
 The price of the remount horse in England has, I 
 believe, rarely reached so high as thirty pounds; 
 though individual commanding officers, with large 
 means at their disposal, may, in order to mount their 
 regiments more efficiently, give several pounds a 
 horse above the Government price. Still, knowing, 
 as we do, the very high price that a thoroughbred 
 horse, who can carry weight in the hunting field, can 
 nowadays command — four or five hundred guineas 
 being not uncommonly paid in the fast counties for 
 one that can carry even fifteen stone — knowing this, 
 I say, how can it be expected that a fast horse can 
 be procured for thirty or forty pounds, to carry 
 twenty-two stone or more? If the thoroughbred 
 weight-carrier was not a most difficult animal to 
 procure, and even to breed, he could not com- 
 mand the large sum that he at present does. It is 
 the scarcity of the article that enhances the price. 
 I have already stated, as my firm belief, that it is 
 impossible to breed the fast and powerful horse in 
 quantities sufficient to mount the cavalry branch of 
 our army. Why, then, go on with the endeavour, 
 the remedy being so easily within our reach ? Enlist 
 for cavalry soldiers only light men, of low stature, 
 with limbs formed by nature to make them horse- 
 men. It is the speed of the horse that makes the 
 charge of cavalry effectual — not the weight or 
 strength of the rider. The first only disables the 
 horse, and the second is not required for holding a 
 
328 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 lance, or wielding a fine-edged blade. The impetus 
 of the horse and the keenness of the weapon are the 
 destructive agents. A child, mounted on a powerful 
 blood-horse, who is master of his weapons, and able 
 to manage the horse, will kill the most powerful 
 giant on foot, because the endurance of the horse is 
 greater than that of the man. The horseman would 
 only have to wheel round and round his adversary 
 until he was helpless from fatigue, and then he could 
 spear or sabre him. 
 
 To recruit for the cavalry, so as to have the maxi- 
 mum weight, with all accoutrements, reduced to 
 thirteen stone or less, it will be necessary that the 
 trooper should not weigh more than nine stone ; and 
 as, of course, many recruits will be growing lads, 
 they should not be within some pounds of that 
 weight. The recruits, also, should be made dis- 
 tinctly to understand that if, at any after time of 
 life, they exceed, by more than seven pounds, the 
 weight laid down — that is, if they become above nine 
 stone seven pounds — they would be liable to be dis- 
 missed or transferred to either the infantry or artil- 
 lery. With proper exercise on horseback, and not 
 too much beef and beer, these short men, say from 
 five feet two to five feet five inches, should never 
 exceed nine stone in weight ; and a man of this low 
 stature, weighing nine stone, is more powerful from 
 being more compact, and more capable of fatigue, 
 than a man of five feet nine or ten, of ten stone ; 
 
ON LIGHT IREEGULAE CAVALEY. 329 
 
 while he is generally better formed for riding, and 
 stronger in the saddle. 
 
 Let us now see what the weight of the arms and 
 accoutrements should be: — 
 
 A slightly curved sword, which is the best form for both lbs. oz. 
 
 point and edge, in a wooden scabbard covered with 
 
 leather . . . . . . .20 
 
 Sword and waist-belt, with pouch filled with twelve 
 
 rounds . . . . . . .28 
 
 Single carbine, carrying twenty bullets to the pound, with 
 
 leather sling . . . . . .60 
 
 Or pistol of the same bore . 2 lbs. 
 
 A hunting saddle, with holsters to fasten on with leather 
 
 surcingle . . . . . . 17 
 
 Double bridles and head-stalls — one being a light chain — 
 
 bits, and standing or running martingale, as the horse 
 
 may require . . . . . .40 
 
 Saddle-cloth of thin, finely-woven felt, or double-milled 
 
 very thick broadcloth, to cover saddle and holsters, 
 
 with surcingles . . . . . .18 
 
 A military cloak, to fasten with two straps behind the 
 
 saddle . . . . . . .50 
 
 The trooper in his jack-boots and uniform . . 126 
 
 Total . . . . . 164 
 
 Or eleven stone ten pounds. 
 
 Here is a mounted and very efficiently armed 
 and accoutred soldier, with everything he requires, 
 weighing on his horse eleven stone ten pounds. This 
 leaves a margin of eighteen pounds ; and if it is 
 actually necessary that he should, on any particular 
 service, carry his horse's picketing-pin and chain, and 
 some food for himself and horse, it cannot make the 
 weight more than thirteen stone — a weight which 
 
330 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 blood-horses can carry well. You can procure them, 
 if Arabs, for 650 rupees, or 65 1, on an average; but 
 if Kateewar (though this breed is nearly lost) or 
 Deccanee, for 500 rupees, or 50Z. Now the irregu- 
 lar cavalry horseman of India in his uniform rarely 
 weighs more than from eight to nine stone, and with 
 all his accoutrements, arms, and khogeer (native 
 saddle), rarely exceeds twelve and a half stone. But 
 then his khogeer, being made of several folds of 
 numdah — a thick sort of felt, without a tree, in two 
 pieces, each some twenty inches long by fifteen deep, 
 and attached over the horse's back-bone by three 
 strong straps of tape — weighs alone from twenty-six 
 to twenty-eight pounds. It is the native saddle nsed 
 throughout India ; it is very easily clung to, and is 
 well adapted to the ease of the rider, who, with his 
 light limbs, is better able to cling to his horse than 
 to keep his seat, like the European, by the muscular 
 power of his thighs and legs. Under the khogeer 
 is a single sheet of felt, called the aragheer ; this 
 absorbs the perspiration. Over the khogeer-holsters, 
 and concealing everything, is a piece of thick broad- 
 cloth, called the charjama, fastened on by a surcingle, 
 made of sambur or elk leather (which is very soft), 
 and having two light straps — one before, over the 
 front part of the charjama, and the other behind. 
 These keep the saddle-cloth in its place. Then, to 
 prevent this treeless saddle from shifting on the 
 horse's back, there is a cloth-covered rope, which 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 331 
 
 goes round the horse's neck where it enters the 
 shoulders, and which is attached on each side to the 
 front of the saddle. A similar rope, fastened to either 
 side of the back of the saddle, goes under the horse's 
 tail, and is the native crupper. Both of these are 
 attached loose, and so do not fray the horse. The 
 girth is made of several folds of a soft cotton cloth, 
 made expressly for the purpose, and having a strong 
 but narrow strap, or thong of leather, fastened to one 
 angle of a sort of delta-shaped stirrup-iron, while the 
 girth is sewn to the opposite side. To similar irons is 
 attached a strong piece of web, which passes across and 
 over the khogeer ; the thong, on each side, serving to 
 loosen or tighten the girth. The standing martingale 
 is invariably used, and is made either of a kind of 
 strong, thick-webbed tape, or of cloth expressly 
 woven for the purpose, and usually dyed red. Either 
 of these is better than any leather, as they never fray 
 the horse's chest. This is not the case with leather, 
 since it becomes hard from the perspiration and con- 
 stant friction. The bridle is single; but from the 
 part where the rider's hand holds it to the end 
 (which serves for a whip) it is sewn double. As this 
 rein cannot, therefore, run through the hand, the 
 man uses but one hand to it. The head-stall is of 
 leather; but the one to which the martingale is 
 attached is of cord, covered with broadcloth, similar 
 to other fastenings of the saddle. The bits generally 
 used are the ring-snaffie with moveable spikes 
 
332 WILD SPOUTS OF IN T DIA. 
 
 (called the choukra); the ring-snaffle with merely 
 square edges, if the horse has a fine mouth, 
 and the central-jointed, light, Mogul curb. The 
 latter has jagged edges and a curb chain, and, 
 though the cheeks or side pieces are short, and con- 
 sequently have not the powerful leverage of our 
 curb bits, still the joint in the centre and the 
 jagged edge make it a terribly severe bit to a horse 
 whose head is tied down by the standing martin- 
 gale. 
 
 With such tackle, the native horseman of India, 
 being a very light man compared with the muscular 
 Englishman, though he is very wiry, manages the 
 most vicious entire horse, puts him on his haunches, 
 and rides him at speed, with as well-closed ranks as 
 the English dragoon. The great power he has over 
 the horse with this tackle, enables him to turn him 
 at three-quarters speed, and almost within his own 
 length. It enables him also to ride sixty miles at a 
 stretch, without being fatigued ; and to do this, spite 
 of his usually leading an almost inactive life, and 
 spite of being in no better training than is acquired 
 by two parades a week and the sentry duty he per- 
 forms. Not one man only, but many a whole regi- 
 ment of irregular cavalry will do this ; although in 
 their ranks are officers and men seventy years of 
 age. I have seen them at the end of a long march, 
 if about to go on picket duty, prefer sitting on their 
 horses to dismounting. Bad walkers as they are 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR. CAVALRY. 333 
 
 the}' do not know what fatigue is on horseback, so 
 accustomed are they from their childhood to the 
 saddle. Now the breaking-in of horses by means 
 of this severe tackle, while it puts them on their 
 haunches, and makes them very handy and manage- 
 able, of course takes away, more or less, from their 
 speed, and is liable to cause bog spavins. In a warm 
 climate, however, this is not the detriment to action 
 which it is in a cold climate, while it never hinders 
 the horse taking his rest. 
 
 The colt, moreover, is so used to be put back on 
 his haunches, from the time he is taken up after 
 being weaned, that his hocks gradually come to look 
 rather full, showing what in England would imme- 
 diately be pronounced as spavins and thoroughpins ; 
 yet they very rarely lame a horse in India ; while, 
 in consequence of the weight being taken much off 
 his forelegs, injuries to those most important parts — 
 upon the soundness of which, from their being the 
 main props and supports of the animal, the safety of 
 the rider depends — are not nearly so common as in 
 Europe. Broken knees are scarcely ever known in 
 an irregular cavalry regiment, and even tripping over 
 any bad ground scarcely ever occurs. 
 
 The Commission, now sitting in England, for the 
 Reorganization of the Bengal Army, has advised her 
 Majesty to have all native cavalry irregulars : thus 
 bearing high testimony to this very hard-worked and 
 useful arm. Perhaps, therefore, being myself an 
 
334 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 irregular cavalry officer of twenty-four years' expe- 
 rience, I may be permitted to make some remarks, 
 which I trust will give no offence to the officers of 
 the regular cavalry, many of whom, indeed, have 
 been among the very best and most gallant irregular 
 cavalry leaders. 
 
 The first and great difference between regular and 
 irregular cavalry is, what is well known to every 
 one in India, though, probably, but to few in England, 
 that the horses, equipments, arms, and accoutre- 
 ments of the former are furnished by Government, 
 while those of the latter are furnished by themselves. 
 The second great difference is, that the regulars are 
 officered, from the colonel down to the last cornet, 
 like a European regiment of cavalry ; having its 
 European troop-commanding officers and subalterns, 
 its adjutant, quartermaster, and veterinary surgeon, 
 and its riding-master (non-commissioned) ; in all, 
 about twenty-four European officers ; while the ir- 
 regular cavalry regiment has only its commanding 
 officer, the second in command, the adjutant, and the 
 surgeon, European, — the troop-commandants being 
 natives. 
 
 The former, being composed of six troops, of fifty 
 men each, which, with the native officers of all ranks, 
 brings up its strength to about three hundred and 
 sixty sabres, costs the Government something like 
 thirty-five thousand rupees (three thousand five hun- 
 dred pounds) a month. The latter, with the same 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 335 
 
 number of troops, but each containing from eighty 
 to ninety men — for the number varies in different 
 regiments and contingents — costs the Government 
 from twenty-five thousand rupees (that is, two thou- 
 sand five hundred pounds) to as low as fifteen thou- 
 sand rupees (or fifteen hundred pounds) a month. 
 The cavalry of the Hydrabad Contingent, which is 
 not excelled by any in India, drawing pay, on the 
 old scale at fortj r Hydrabad or thirty-six Company's 
 rupees, and on the new at thirty rupees a month, 
 cost Government the higher sum. The cavalry of 
 the Nagpore Force and other contingents, on twenty 
 rupees a month, cost Government less than fifteen 
 thousand rupees. In the calculation of these two, 
 we have, however, left out the cost of the grass or 
 grain for feeding the horses, as well as the prices 
 paid for the regular cavalry horses themselves. This 
 last forms a very heavy item ; for even in the Madras 
 and Bombay cavalry, the remounts, on their first 
 purchase, cost Government five hundred and fifty 
 rupees, in cheap seasons ; and when they have joined 
 their regiments, and been thoroughly broken in, it is 
 not too much to say that, one with another, they cost 
 seven hundred and fifty rupees a head; while the 
 stud horses in Bengal, the Australian or Cape, must 
 have cost, at the least, a hundred more than this. 
 The case, then, stands thus: — The native regular 
 cavalry of, say, three hundred and seventy sabres, 
 including all ranks, costs Government about thirty- 
 
336 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 five thousand rupees, or three thousand five hundred 
 pounds, a month, irrespective of the first price of 
 their horses, or monthly consumption of grain. The 
 irregular cavalry, of five hundred and seventy of all 
 ranks, and when most expensively paid, costs 
 Government only two thousand five hundred rupees : 
 and this paid in the lower scale amounts to, say, 
 between fourteen to eighteen hundred pounds a 
 month. The former get batta whenever they are 
 out on service, and the Government commissariat 
 provides carriage for them. The latter get nothing 
 but their service ammunition carried for them, 
 nor is the commissariat bound to procure baggage- 
 cattle for either officers or men: they are always 
 obliged to furnish them themselves. The regular 
 cavalry, therefore, as is shown above, is very ex- 
 pensive. 
 
 The Madras and Bombay regiments are generally 
 very well mounted ; the horses, with the exception 
 of the officers' chargers, being Government property. 
 The report of the Commission in England promises 
 better days for the irregular cavalry, a good portion 
 of which has done right good and gallant service 
 throughout these mutinies ; and I am convinced that, 
 if the Government will give them better pay, they 
 are, as a class, more to be depended on than any 
 other in India. With good pay, which makes their 
 sillidaree assamees, or appointments, valuable, being 
 a sufficient provision for a family, these horsemen 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 337 
 
 would always remain faithful. The service is a very 
 favourite one, and it provides for a class of men who 
 must either be employed in this way, or become 
 robbers. They are descended either from the Mo- 
 hammedan conquerors of India, or the Pindarees, or 
 Mahratta freebooters. They are born horsemen, and 
 while children the sword is put into their hand to 
 play with. There was such a glut of these races 
 in the market that the late Government formed in 
 the Bengal establishment eighteen regiments of irre- 
 gular cavalry, and paid them at so small a rate as 
 twenty rupees, or two pounds, a month for man 
 and horse, including the purchase of the animal 
 and his equipments, and the arms, accoutrements, 
 and uniform of the man. The consequence was, 
 that debt became the normal state of irregular 
 cavalry; and that to so great an extent, that the 
 regimental soucar, or banker — who lent money at 
 twelve per cent, per annum on a bond signed by 
 the commanding officer of the regiment, which was 
 the guarantee that the kists, or instalments, should 
 be regularly cut from the men's pay — made so great 
 a profit by this excessive interest, that in many 
 cases, though he never got back the principal, he 
 willingly lent all his money in the regiment. With- 
 out these regimental bankers, these regiments would 
 often have been unable to move. But hence arose 
 the chief inducements to the irregular cavalry to 
 throw off their allegiance. First, there was the small 
 
 22 
 
338 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 and inadequate pay ; any change from which offered 
 to be for the better. Secondly, there was their hope- 
 less state of debt ; the mutiny would at least cancel 
 this, and if they survived it, they would start afresh 
 in life. 
 
 There is not, throughout the armies of the world, 
 a more respectful, gallant, and hard-working soldier 
 than the irregular horseman of India. Of all the 
 sects of Mahommedans, or castes of Hindoos, the 
 Mohammedan Putan, I think, bears the palm. It 
 was three thousand of the old Nizam's cavalry, most 
 of them Mahommedans, that finally drove the large 
 hordes of the Mahratta horse out of the field. This 
 was before it became the reformed Nizam's cavalry, 
 and was regularly officered by Europeans. They 
 have, up to this day, never forgotten their former 
 prestige; and so much are they dreaded by the 
 Arabs and Rohillas, of whom the turbulent popu- 
 lation of the Hydrabad country is chiefly composed, 
 that the latter, even when they are apparently secure 
 within fortresses or walled towns, almost always give 
 themselves up as prisoners, and surrender the place ; 
 and the former, who are second to no troops in the 
 world in defence of fortified places, have always 
 been obliged to succumb to the keen sabre of the 
 Nizam's Irregular Horsemen. The Second Regiment 
 of Scinde Irregular Horse was raised in that nursery 
 for horsemen — the Nizam's country. Throughout 
 the mutiny the Nizam's cavalry, or Hydrabad Con- 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 339 
 
 tingent Cavalry, as it is now denominated, and the 
 Scinde Horse, have remained faithful. Many other 
 levies, and without the high pay enjoyed by these, 
 have also remained faithful ; but had all the under- 
 paid levies revolted, it would have been no wonder. 
 Men with arms in their hands will not see their 
 wives and children starve around them. 
 
 I must beg the pardon of my reader for this 
 wandering digression. I have been so long and 
 intimately acquainted with the irregular horseman of 
 this part of India, and there are so many among 
 their native officers and men who, I am convinced, 
 would have laid their lives down in defence of my 
 family, that even with the terrible tragedies of Upper 
 India still fresh in my memory, I cannot alienate 
 myself from them. I cannot forget the gallant bear- 
 ing and faithful conduct of men with whom I have 
 spent twenty-two of the best years of my life. This 
 will be my excuse with the forbearing reader. 
 
 But now to return to the formation of irregular 
 cavalry for service in any part of the world. In 
 order to be successful in that, one must not depart 
 far from the practice, founded on experience, of the 
 country in which such cavalry is to be raised and 
 employed. The material, therefore, of the equip- 
 ments and accoutrements may differ in Europe and 
 Asia ; yet there cannot, after all, be any great differ- 
 ence allowed in other respects, as similar duties 
 are expected from all. The dress, or uniform, of 
 
 22—2 
 
340 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 irregular cavalry regiments in India varies in colour. 
 The mundeel, or turban, for the native officer is 
 of red and gold, or blue ; the trooper's turban being 
 generally of one colour, red or blue. The alkalick, 
 or native frock-coat, is made of broadcloth. It has 
 no collar, opens at the left side if the wearer is a 
 Mohammedan, on the right if a Hindoo, and has 
 half-a-dozen hooks and eyes to fasten it from the 
 neck to the waist ; the skirts cross in front, and come 
 down as low as one inch above the knee. The 
 texture of the cloth denotes the rank of the wearer. 
 The native commissioned officers of all ranks wear 
 the superfine broadcloth, the non-commissioned wear 
 cloth of an inferior quality, and the troopers a 
 coarser kind. The belts of the first have more gold 
 lace than those of the second, but the fine red cloth 
 of which they are made is the same. The trooper's 
 belt, or girdle, is of coarse red cloth. The commis- 
 sioned officers wear a pouch and cross-belt — full 
 dress with gold lace ; undress, patent leather. The 
 non-commissioned officers have patent leather for full 
 dress, plain leather, undress : but these things vary 
 in different regiments. The trooper's pouch is run 
 upon a waist-belt of plain leather ; tight trousers 
 dyed a reddish brown in the babool dye, jack -boots 
 and blue steel spurs, buckled on with leather straps, 
 complete the uniform, the colour of which differs in 
 different contingents and regiments. 
 
 The European officer assimilates his dress very 
 
OX LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 341 
 
 much to that of the native officer, except that on 
 service he wears a fore and aft hunting cap covered 
 with red cloth, and a turban, one fold of which comes 
 iinder his chin, leaving the end open and hanging 
 down behind his neck, to protect him from the sun, 
 or a sabre cut This is the best working dress for 
 India. It is cool, the neck being in no way covered, 
 unless on a cold night the wearer wishes to put a 
 neckerchief on. In Europe the frock-coat would be 
 worn. The jack-boot is indispensable ; for in this 
 country we skirmish through thorn jungles, and 
 scour them as effectually as any hunters on foot 
 would do, if beating for game. Without his long 
 boot, the rider could not do this : he would become 
 disabled by blows and thorns. For the hot weather 
 white cotton cloth is worn by all ranks. 
 
 As regards the saddle, the treed-saddle used in 
 Europe would also be the best in India : but many 
 horsemen would require a saddle-cloth; and the besi 
 kind would be, as before remarked, a very thick 
 broadcloth ; for if it is not thick, it wrinkles up and 
 gets out of shape. The double bridle and bits might, 
 still be used, but the curb rein should be a light chain,., 
 which could not be cut in two by a sabre. I think 
 the standing martingale might with many horses be- 
 used advantageously, especially when the rider has. 
 not a strong arm, and the horse is large and power- 
 ful. I myself always use double reins, running 
 martingale, and English hunting saddle ; and I have 
 
342 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 never seen any native broken-in horses excel my 
 own in turning at speed: but then I use all my 
 horses as hog-hunters. The disadvantages of the 
 standing martingale are, that a horse cannot jump 
 height so well as with a free head, and that his pace 
 is more or less injured; but the advantages which 
 the rider derives from the greater control he has over 
 the horse, more than counterbalance these defects. 
 A native horseman prefers a colt, not more than 
 three years old, whose joints are not stiff, that he 
 may put him upon his haunches, and teach him 
 the peculiar paces that, according to his idea, are 
 necessary in a war-horse. The Mahrattas, perhaps, 
 are the best horse-breakers in India ; they are very 
 patient, giving a colt or filly full six months to learn 
 thoroughly each of the paces. They take up the 
 animal at between two and three years old, teach 
 him first to walk fast, and turn about thoroughly 
 when walking ; then they teach him to trot for as 
 many months more ; and then to canter and gallop 
 and turn at speed. Their horses consequently rarely 
 understand being pulled up from speed by our bits 
 and tackle. Nothing is so likely to injure horses' 
 hocks as stopping him at speed, and I do not see the 
 occasion for it ; for if a horse will always obey the 
 bridles and turn, you can ride him at speed up to the 
 edge of a deep ravine or a precipice, in a country 
 which you have never hunted before, and if the 
 place is impracticable, you turn him and lose no time. 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 343 
 
 The plan of arming cavalry with double-barrelled 
 rifle carbines and revolver pistols, making them, think 
 much of fire-arms, seems to me, I must say, of very 
 doubtful advantage. If you teach the trooper to 
 shoot very accurately with his rifle carbine, with 
 raised sights at long distances, he will be filled with 
 the idea that he can kill his enemy with it ; and 
 instead of closing with him, and using his lance or 
 his sword, he will stop to shoot. Now, fire-arms are 
 generally used, or should be used by cavalry, for 
 skirmishing ; and thus, since a man with his horse 
 presents a mark at least eight times as large as the 
 infantry rifleman lying down, he can scarcely expect, 
 if both are equally good shots, to hit his enemy before 
 he or his horse are disabled : the more so, that the 
 rifleman is armed with a finer weapon, and is most 
 probably hidden, or partially hidden, behind a tree, 
 stone, or bush. But let the cavalry skirmisher put 
 spurs to his horse, and with his spear or his sword 
 go at full speed at the infantry skirmisher, and 
 the odds are all, in my opinion, in favour of the 
 horseman. 
 
 "We, who are in the habit of firing at deer and 
 other animals going at speed in the jungle, know 
 how much practice it requires to kill them ; in short, 
 so much that, for one man who can do this after the 
 practice of half a lifetime, you will find a dozen who 
 can hit stationary objects. Now, the deer has no 
 weapon which may make the hunter fear missing 
 
344 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 him ; but here the horseman is armed with that 
 which the foot soldier knows he cannot hope to 
 resist, if he fails to kill his enemy before he closes 
 with him. If the rifleman, therefore, fires at the 
 horseman when going as hard as his horse can 
 carry him, at above hundred and twenty yards, the 
 chances are that he will miss or only wound the 
 horse, and has not time to load again. He may, 
 or may not, kill him, if he reserves his fire till his 
 enemy is nearer ; but death awaits him almost for 
 certain, if he fails to kill the horse or man ; and, if 
 he once turns his back to regain his regiment, unless 
 very close to it, nothing can save him from the swoop 
 of a daring horseman. 
 
 Instead, therefore, of wasting money and time in 
 trying to make the mounted branch good rifle-shots, 
 and thus instilling into their minds the notion that 
 fire-arms are superior to the sword and the spear, 
 let us do all we can to make them believe that their 
 horses and selves combined are irresistible. Let us 
 teach them to become, when in the saddle, a part of 
 the animals they bestride. Let us give prizes to the 
 best horsemen, swordsmen, and spearsmen ; and let 
 us make a man's promotion dependent upon his 
 possession of these qualifications. 
 
 Instead of so much drilling in a body on parade, 
 let the horseman be taught to act singly ; for after 
 all, wherever there is resistance, whether from the 
 enemy's cavalry or infantry, after the charge such 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 345 
 
 resistance separates the body more or less. The 
 issue then depends on individual courage and 
 prowess, and chiefly on horsemanship, and on the 
 capability of the horse to carry the rider on to the 
 end. Woe betide the unfortunate horseman whose 
 animal is done up, or wearied, and, consequently, 
 comes to a standstill ! Were his horse as powerful 
 as the largest in Barclay and Perkins's dray-yard, 
 his rider is ripe for being carved by a camp-follower 
 on a fresh pony. His only chance is to jump off and 
 fight it out on foot. 
 
 My opinion as to the best way of arming light 
 cavalry, so that it shall be able to protect itself at night 
 or in jungles, when and where, as a mounted body, it 
 might be taken at a disadvantage, is to give eighteen 
 men, out of a troop of eighty, the sabre and the 
 rifled percussion carbine, or, if you will, the double- 
 barrelled carbine ; the loading of this, however, on 
 horseback is sometimes hazardous. Eighteen others 
 I would arm with a light spear, about eight feet 
 long, the shaft of bamboo, shod at the lower end 
 with iron, and having attached to it, at about a foot 
 from the point, a small light flag, red, or whatever is 
 the colour of the uniform of the regiment The iron 
 end answers also the purpose of a capital bloodless 
 weapon for disarming prisoners. It is carried on the 
 left side, in an iron ring fixed to the stirrup, and by 
 a thong of leather, sewn at about four or five feet 
 from the lower end, which the rider puts round his 
 
346 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 bridle arm. In this way, if he wishes, he can use 
 his sword, while carrying the spear on the sling, 
 which partially protects the left, or undefended side. 
 These spearsmen make first-rate skirmishers, and can 
 reach their foe at a distance, picking him out of a 
 bush, where swordsmen cannot touch him. The 
 spear is never carried when the trooper goes on dis- 
 mounted duty or services. 
 
 Thus, out of eighty men in each troop, we have 
 eighteen carbineers and eighteen spearsmen, the latter 
 having also pistols and swords. The remaining 
 forty-four are armed with the sabre and pistol. This 
 latter should be of the same bore, say, to carry twenty 
 bullets to the pound, as the rifled carbine ; but it 
 should be light, not more than six inches long in the 
 barrel, and carried always in a holster on the waist- 
 belt ; it is then useful when the man is separated, 
 owing to whatever cause, from his horse, or if he is 
 wounded in the sword-arm, or is going on dismounted 
 service. In the latter case, a trooper, carrying his 
 pistol in his left hand at full-cock, and his sword in 
 his right, is no mean antagonist ; and if he is storming 
 a place defended by men armed with fire-arms, as he 
 gets close, the very act of letting off his pistol in the 
 direction of his enemy disconcerts the aim, and before 
 his foe can load again, the swordsman ought to have 
 come to satisfactory conclusions with him. Even 
 when unloaded, the pistol carried in this manner 
 acts as a kind of shield to ward off many a blow. 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 347 
 
 It is very certain that the great range obtained by 
 projectiles, and the very large and not easily missed 
 mark that a body of cavalry, either en masse, line, 
 or column, of necessity presents when stationary, 
 makes it of the utmost consequence to keep it either 
 out of range or sheltered by the inequality of the 
 ground, until the time for action arrives. If neither 
 of these means of husbanding it are possible, let it be 
 kept in motion, or let it attack. Nothing disheartens 
 the soldier so much as inactivity, when fighting is 
 going on within reach of him. The infantry soldier, 
 if not advancing, may be kept warm by being allowed 
 to let off his piece into the mass of the enemy, or 
 even in their direction, though, perhaps, they are a 
 little out of range. The now and then firing a shot, 
 and having one come into your ranks, is exciting ; 
 but sitting on horseback, when all around you are 
 engaged, is anything but a pleasing duty. 
 
 The lamented Captain Nolan, in his book on 
 cavalry tactics, has placed on record his opinion, 
 that the way to give cavalry the best chance of 
 piercing a square of infantry is to charge on the 
 front and one of the adjoining sides, with two troops 
 respectively ; while a third troop forms opposite the 
 angle of the square, the two sides of which are being- 
 charged. The first two troops having drawn the 
 fire, the third rushes down, and is upon the square 
 before it is aware of its approach. This appears a 
 very possible plan of attack, and does not differ much 
 
348 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 from hurling successive bodies of horsemen fresh and 
 fresh upon the infantry square. The front of the 
 attacking cavalry should not be more than half the 
 extent of the sides of the square it is charging. 
 Physically, the infantry cannot possibly sustain the 
 shock ; but, unfortunately, the idea has taken such 
 strong hold of men's minds that squares of infantry 
 cannot be broken by cavalry, that it is very difficult 
 to eradicate it, or to persuade men to listen to any 
 argument on the subject ; though, as Captain Nolan 
 has recorded, the instances have been numerous in 
 which the mounted branch has been successful. But 
 to command success, or, indeed, to employ cavalry 
 against squares of infantry or batteries of guns with 
 any hopes of success, you must have the horses 
 lightly weighted, so that they can move very rapidly. 
 If they are slow in being brought into action, they 
 must be annihilated. 
 
 What I have said about small men must not be 
 taken in any way to mean that I think that the 
 lighter man is a better soldier than the larger and 
 heavier man ; but that, not being able to procure 
 thorough-bred and speedy horses capable of carrying 
 the large men, you must enlist such men as your 
 horses can carry. I am quite aware how much more 
 formidable cavalry would be if they could be com- 
 posed of large and powerful thorough-bred horses, 
 capable of carrying large men and their accoutre- 
 ments. Thus the Circassian cavalry, who, in attack- 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 349 
 
 ing the Russian infantry, are disposed in the form of 
 a wedge, with the most powerful horse and most 
 courageous man first, and then in ranks of three, 
 five, seven, and so on, meet, we are informed, with 
 great success. Each of these splendid mountaineers 
 has frequently, though devoting himself to death, 
 cut to pieces three of the enemy. Their principal 
 weapon is the sabre ; and as the Asiatic uses it with 
 a drawing cut, no one who has not seen wounds in- 
 flicted by it when used in this manner, can have an 
 idea of the execution performed. I have seen limbs 
 lopped off, and gashes given, by a light sabre and a 
 light arm, in a way which might have been deemed 
 impossible even for a giant But this is owing to 
 the keen edge of the sabre, which, as it touches the 
 body or limb, is drawn towards the striker. I have 
 myself nearly divided large wild boars in two in this 
 manner. The Arabs use cavalry in extended order, 
 by moving around their enemy, and suddenly rush- 
 ing down on any weak point. I believe they rarely, 
 if ever, succeeded in piercing the French squares ; 
 though, in Egypt, the Mamelukes, as single horse- 
 men, constantly rode through them ; and the famous 
 old Emir Abdoolkadr often escaped by springing his 
 horse clear over the French bayonets. 
 
 I think the following movement, for employing 
 cavalry against an infantry square, or against guns, 
 may be worthy of trial. We will suppose the in- 
 fantry, be it a regiment or battalion, to be moving 
 
350 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 on ground not unfavourable for evolutions of horse, 
 when it finds cavalry in its vicinity. If it lias no 
 guns, it will, of course, be thrown into a square, 
 and prepare to receive the attack. The leader of 
 the cavalry divides his regiment, which, we will sup- 
 pose, is composed of four squadrons, into four distinct 
 parts, sending a squadron round, so as to face each 
 side of the square of infantry, but at a distance of 
 half a mile, out of any certain fire, even of rifles. 
 The squadron leaders, having arrived at their ground, 
 again divide these squadrons into troops ; one to act 
 as the support, and the other as the attacking party. 
 The former is posted one hundred paces in the rear 
 of the latter. 
 
 At a given trumpet-sound, each troop of each 
 squadron files at a trot from either flanks, the right 
 files inclining a little to their left, and the left files to 
 their right, until the leading files of the attacking 
 troops approach to within forty or fifty yards of one 
 another, and form a circular chain of open files, each 
 pair of horsemen being some forty or fifty yards 
 from the next link. They thus form a circle of a 
 mile in diameter, round the squares of infantry. 
 The reserve troops, at the same time and at the 
 same trumpet-sound, form another circle, the files of 
 which should be a little more open, one hundred 
 yards behind the attacking circle. Directly the com- 
 manding officer sees that the whole have fronted 
 towards the infantry, he sounds the advance. The 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 351 
 
 files are still at a trot, and it is taken up in course br- 
 each troop trumpeter ; and thus each file, being equi- 
 distant from the infantry, approaches it at the same 
 time, taking care not to close suddenly towards one 
 another. They approach at this pace, until they are 
 within two hundred yards of the square, when the 
 gallop is sounded; and at fifty yards they charge 
 with a shout. Until these files are as close as this, 
 being quite separate while moving, and thus present- 
 ing a mark not at all easily hit, there is very little 
 damage done by the infantry fire ; for the cavalry is 
 not en masse, or in close array, as would be the case 
 if they charged in closed ranks. Indeed, until they 
 are almost upon the infantry, the hits will be very 
 few; for, under such circumstances, I defy men to 
 take certain aim at such an object. 
 
 Nothing, I think, ought to save infantry attacked 
 by bold horsemen in this manner, if they have been 
 well practised at the manoeuvre. The reserve, also, 
 rushes in, and thus the infantry, if it withstands the 
 first shock, has to bear a second, and that when its 
 fire has been drawn. The horses, seeing other horses 
 on their flanks, cannot easily turn aside, even if fear 
 of the fire ever causes the horses to swerve. No 
 reserve is required, because, of course, if the cavalry 
 fail, it cannot be pursued by the infantry. It appears 
 to me that guns also would be more successfully 
 attacked in this manner than in any other ; because 
 it would be easy enough for horsemen, acting in open 
 
352 WILD SPOETS OF INDIA. 
 
 files, as they approached, to avoid round shot, the 
 course of which is so plainly seen. When they ap- 
 proached within reach of grape, spherical-case shot, 
 or shrapnell, of course, these would be used ; but one 
 discharge only could be fired before the horsemen 
 were in the battery. 
 
 With reference to the employment of the light 
 cavalry, it appears to me that they might be more 
 often used than they are to skirmish in jungle, and 
 over ground which those who do not know from 
 actual experience what properly-equipped horsemen 
 can do, would think impracticable. A horseman even 
 in mountainous countries can go almost wherever an 
 infantry-man can go ; indeed if you will limit the 
 latter to the use of his feet, and not allow him to 
 climb by the help of his hands, the active horseman 
 will follow him anywhere, encumbered as he is with 
 his arms. In jungles, too, of high grass and under- 
 wood, where the infantry skirmisher is hidden, and 
 where, from the great labour of passing through 
 opposing obstacles, he is soon completely knocked 
 up, the horseman, with his armed heel and leather- 
 protected legs, pushes on ; nor can the nearly naked 
 inhabitant of the jungle get away from him. I have 
 seen this constantly done ; and with native irregular 
 cavalry I have scoured jungles which appeared im- 
 pervious to horsemen, and have caught and made 
 prisoners those who ran, which is far more difficult 
 than to cut up those who fight. There is another 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 353 
 
 thing to be taken into account, and that is, the fear 
 that men who inhabit jungles have of horsemen, when 
 they find that their running away is in vain. The 
 infantry soldier, impeded as he is with his -uniform, 
 ball ammunition, accoutrements, musket and bayonet, 
 has no chance of succeeding against an enemy who 
 will not stand to fight. My plan is, in beating the 
 thickest jungles, to employ cavalry. I proceed thus : 
 I draw up my cavalry in line on the nearest piece 
 of clear ground fronting in the direction of the 
 jungles which I wish to beat, and, if possible, upon 
 a path. I explain distinctly to each squadron and 
 troop leader, and to those in command of the reserves, 
 the direction in which I think the enemy are con- 
 cealed : the cardinal point to which the line of skir- 
 mishers is to proceed ; the probable number of miles 
 I shall proceed in that direction, if the enemy is not 
 found : and to which hand I shall change front If 
 there are any objects easily kept sight of, such as 
 hills, I point them out — observing that the camp lies 
 between such and such hills, or that such hills are in 
 such a direction from the camp. I remind them 
 how they are to take any villages belonging to the 
 enemy; how they are to treat unarmed men, and 
 how not to trouble themselves with women or chil- 
 dren; that if a body of armed men is met with, 
 either posted among rocks or defended by abattis, 
 they are invariably to turn their flank; how they 
 are to give the alarm by firing off two pistol-shots 
 
 23 
 
354 WILD SPOUTS OF INDIA. 
 
 in succession, and pass the word to me; how that 
 at whatever place the word is given by me, it is to 
 be passed on along the entire link ; that no trumpet 
 is to sound except to take up any call given by me, 
 because as little noise as possible should be made; 
 that each pair of horsemen, on the left of the centre, 
 keep sight of the next pair on the right ; and those 
 on the right of the centre the next pair on the 
 left. 
 
 Non-commissioned officers, with small detachments 
 of about twelve men each, keep in the rear of the 
 centre of their divisions. Thus in a regiment, say 
 of five hundred sabres, having six troops, there are 
 one hundred and fifty men, including non-commis- 
 sions, who are kept in reserve, but moving in rear of 
 the links. It is the duty of the non-commissioned 
 officer commanding these parties to take care that 
 the links in his division are kept unbroken, and 
 about fifty yards apart if the jungle is moderately 
 thick ; for one horseman sees another farther than a 
 man on foot does. The duty of these reserves is 
 also to secure and bring in all prisoners, which leaves 
 the skirmishers free and unencumbered. The secret 
 is to teach every man on the left of the centre to keep 
 in sight his right-hand man, and every one on the 
 right of the centre his left-hand man, and to adapt 
 his pace accordingly ; so that, if the line of skir- 
 mishers advance, he is to advance to his own proper 
 front, and not to incline, unless he sees a body of the 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 355 
 
 enemy on either side of him. In this way every 
 living thing in the jungle is kept before the line of 
 skirmishers. 
 
 Having thus thoroughly explained to all their duty, 
 I extend them, either from left or right flank, or 
 centre, as required ; placing the rear rank man on the 
 left of his front rank man, if the latter is a spears- 
 man and the former a carbine man, or vice versa. 
 Spearsmen, however, when in rank, are always front 
 rank men; but if both are swordsmen and wear 
 pistols, it does not matter which is on the right. 
 Having posted these at the distance they are to keep 
 from each other, I place myself in front of the 
 centre files of the regiment, and give the word to 
 advance. 
 
 In this way, with a regiment of five hundred 
 horse, I sweep a tract of jungle of about five miles. 
 If I consider it advisable to proceed seven and a half 
 miles in one direction, without changing front, and 
 then change front to my right, the left flank skir- 
 mishers, by the time they have wheeled, have gone 
 twelve miles from my first starting-point. I then 
 proceed five miles over the ground to the flank of 
 my right front. I then again change front to my 
 right ; and if I take all the four sides of the square 
 before I return to my camp, I have thoroughly 
 searched about one hundred and ten square miles of 
 jungle. The horses, which were on the extreme left 
 of my flank, have gone about thirty miles. 
 
 23—2 
 
356 WILD SPOKTS OF INDIA. 
 
 I have, of course, during this hanhwa, or driving, 
 stopped and watered the horses, and have been out 
 seven hours or so ; but no dismounted men could in 
 the same time have beaten half the extent of ground. 
 In fact, there are heavy grass jungles, through 
 which the most determined men cannot go on foot 
 for any length of time: they become utterly ex- 
 hausted. 
 
 There are two or three things to be borne in mind 
 in this skirmishing; such as this : that in rocky 
 around the sound of the horses' feet is sometimes 
 heard at long distances, and, therefore, on going up 
 slopes of hills, it is advisable to trot ; for men who 
 have been on the summit, looking out, are thus 
 caught sight of when you reach the top and look 
 down, as they are going down into nullahs or ravines. 
 On every path or sandy watercourse, you keep your 
 eye down for footmarks ; and it is then that the expe- 
 rience of the man who is used to shikar comes into 
 play. If you are beating for rebels, such as Gonds, 
 or other tribes who live in the forest, you must keep 
 a look out on any high or thick trees : for many of 
 the jungle tribes in India live, during the rains, up 
 in the trees, in order to be above the malaria, which, 
 in that season of the year, is so deadly. The art of 
 skirmishing in jungles is as easy to teach as that of 
 skirmishing on the plains, but it is more difficult to 
 learn ; because the men can at times only see the files 
 indistinctly on their right and left ; and so it requires 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 357 
 
 much practice to get them in the habit of going 
 straight to their front and to keep the chain un- 
 broken. 
 
 There must be something, I think, radically wrong 
 ill the way in which young horses are broken in for 
 the cavalry service of the regular armies of Europe. 
 Something must be wanting where there is such a 
 waste of time, and, consequently, of money, in a 
 system that takes from six months to a year to break 
 a horse for the ranks; and when even then he is often 
 broken in only to go steadily in his troop, and will 
 not sufficiently yield to the bit for the rider to be 
 able to take him across country by himself, or to turn 
 him at speed. A colt in this country is bought out 
 of an Arab dealer's lot, or at the fair, or from the 
 Mahratta horse-dealer to-day, and to-morrow he is 
 hog-hunting, or is on parade; and by dint of the 
 sharp bit and standing martingale, he is at once mas- 
 tered and made to go straight. In a fortnight, he is 
 not known by his awkwardness from horses that have 
 been working in the ranks for years. 
 
 He begins to earn his food at once ; while the 
 regular cavalry troop-horse first costs the Govern- 
 ment from six to twelve months' food — a heavy item 
 in any country — to say nothing of the loss of the 
 trooper's services for the time, nor the pay of riding- 
 masters, rough riders, &c. Supposing that an officer 
 commanding a cavalry brigade on active service has 
 many casualties, from any cause, among his horses, it 
 
358 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 is very probable that he may be able to procure as 
 many remounts as he requires. But unless he can 
 break them in at once, so as to bring them into his 
 ranks, of what use are they for the service on which 
 he is employed ? Or the war itself may be ended in 
 six months, and then of what use have his remounts 
 been ? That system, therefore, can be considered 
 as the only efficient one which breaks in a horse for 
 service at once. A hog-hunter, in India, takes a fresh 
 Arab, that has just been bought out of the dealer's 
 stables, and kills a hog off his back at once ! It may 
 be said, indeed, that the Arab horse is very docile ; 
 but the same can be done with a Deccanee colt or 
 filly, if well bred. 
 
 Whether the system of sillidaree, or irregular 
 horse, as organized for service in India, could be 
 applied to England, I am not prepared to say : but 
 for a threatened invasion, or in an emergency, I do 
 not see why the system should not answer. It is a 
 much more simple way of raising cavalry than any 
 other ; and in England, as the class that could take 
 such service would be the yeomanry, and those only 
 who could afford of themselves to purchase horses 
 and arms, it appears to me that it would be no bad 
 policy always to have a certain number of such men 
 acquainted with their duties in each county. They 
 would form a nucleus for light cavalry, by means of 
 which a considerable body could be quickly orga- 
 nized and drilled. 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 359 
 
 These are the natural protectors of the soil ; their 
 interests are bound up with that of the Government, 
 and I suppose that among the sons of each substan- 
 tial farmer in England, there is one daredevil, whom 
 the schoolmaster can never do anything with, who is 
 always riding bare-backed and scaring his father's 
 colts, or getting the old man into trouble with the 
 squire, from his having been seen with a gun near 
 some favourite pheasant preserve. He generally 
 breaks from control by enlisting into a cavalry 
 regiment bound for foreign service. The first thing 
 his parents hear of him is, perhaps, that he is in 
 India. Now, here is the very material required for 
 a sillidar horseman. His father can afford to mount 
 and equip him, and he himself has pluck and courage 
 for all the rest. He is ready, if required, to go to 
 the world's end, on his father's horse and with his 
 own spurs ; for the thirst of adventure is very strong 
 in men of this temperament, and they are only 
 wild in youth, because their love of excitement 
 and adventure cannot be gratified in the sober old 
 country. 
 
 The proportion of commissioned and non-commis- 
 sioned officers to the number of men is, I think, all 
 that remains now to be mentioned. If the regiment of 
 irregular cavalry is to be native, it may be composed 
 of six troops of eighty men a troop. After deducting 
 men on general and regimental duties, men on leave, 
 sick, &c, you will have sixty men, or, with the non- 
 
3G0 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 commissioned, sixty-four or thirty-two files in a 
 troop, and sixty-four in a squadron. If larger than 
 this, they are not so easily handled, nor so cor- 
 rect in their wheeling and dressing. Each of these 
 troops requires a trumpeter, standard-bearer, eight 
 non-commissioned officers of the grade of duffadars, 
 one kote duffadar, one jemadar, one naib rissuldar, 
 and a rissuldar, who is the native troop commanding 
 officer. 
 
 To each squadron is assigned an European com- 
 missioned officer, either captain or subaltern, who is 
 the squadron commanding officer, and its leader on 
 parade. One European officer, of the rank of major 
 or captain, commands the whole, and is assisted by 
 an adjutant and a medical man, a soldier surgeon. 
 If the regiment is to be composed of Europeans, for 
 service in England or in India, of course the number 
 of commissioned officers must be increased ; but I do 
 not think to the extent to which our cavalry regiments 
 are officered. The establishment, therefore, of a 
 native irregular cavalry regiment will be as follows, 
 and will, if properly paid, cost Government two thou- 
 sand three hundred and seventy pounds a month : — 
 
 1 Commandant — European. 
 
 3 Captains or subalterns — European. 
 
 Squadron Commanding Officers. 
 
 1 Adjutant. 
 
 1 Surgeon, or assistant-surgeon. 
 
 6 Rissuldar, native, commissioned. 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 
 
 361 
 
 Troop Commanding Officers. 
 6 Naib rissuldars. 
 6 Jemadars. 
 6 Kote duffadars. 
 4S Duffadars. 
 6 Nishanburdars, or standard-bearers. 
 6 Trumpeters. 
 480 Troopers. 
 
 1 "Woordee major, native, commissioned; and the usual esta- 
 blishment. 
 
 Pay and Allowances of an Irregular Regiment of 
 Native Cavalry. 
 
 1 Commanding officer) . 
 
 3 Captains or subalterns, as squadron 
 commandants, 700 rs. each 
 
 1 Adjutant, subaltern . 
 
 1 Assistant-surgeon 
 
 6 Rissuldars, native commanding offi- 
 cers, troop commandants, 3 at 
 175 rs., 3 at 125 rs. . 
 
 6 Naib Rissuldars, 75 rs. each . 
 
 6 Jemadars, at 55 rs. each 
 
 rs. 
 1,200 per mensem. 
 
 2,100 „ 
 
 600 „ 
 
 600 
 
 900 
 450 
 330 
 
 Non-Commissioned Native. 
 
 6 Kote duffadars, at 45 rs. each 
 4S Duffadars, at 35 rs. each 
 6 Nishanburdars, at 35 rs. each 
 6 Trumpeters, at 32 rs. each 
 480 Troopers, at 30 rs. each 
 
 1 Woordee Major, staff. 
 Troop duffadars 6 rs. above their 
 
 pay, staff . 
 Trumpet-major, staff 
 Bazaar Establishment 
 Forage allowance 
 Hospital Establishment 
 
 2 Native doctors, 40 rs. each 
 
 Total 
 
 rs. 
 
 270 per mensem. 
 
 1,680 „ 
 
 210 „ 
 
 192 „ 
 
 14,400 „ 
 140 
 
 36 
 
 6 
 100 „ 
 
 60 
 200 „ 
 
 80 
 
 . 23,700 
 
362 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 As all ranks have always to keep baggage-ponies, 
 and you cannot have a regiment efficient without 
 them, I have put down the pay of European officers 
 higher than it at present is, but still hardly sufficiently 
 high. It is an expensive service to belong to, for 
 an European officer cannot carry his tent and kit, 
 and mount his servants, which is actually necessary 
 when marching from twenty-five to forty miles a 
 day, for less than a hundred rupees a month for 
 baggage-ponies, and then he marches as light as 
 possible. 
 
 I have only to add further that the argument 
 with reference to the size of cavalry horses and 
 men may still be considered inconclusive, and, there- 
 fore, I wish to say a word or two more on the sub- 
 ject. I will concede the point, and suppose, for the 
 sake of argument, that large blood-horses can be 
 bred to carry, at great speed and with endurance, 
 men and accoutrements weighing some twenty-two 
 stone ; and that Government can afford to pay five 
 hundred guineas for each trooper's horse. With 
 this wonderful capability, such cavalry would, as 
 a matter of course, ride down and destroy any 
 lighter cavalry that it met. But how would it be 
 when opposed to artillery and rifle-armed infantry? 
 These large horses and men, in whatever formation 
 they might be, would present a target nearly twice 
 as large as an equal number of moderately-sized 
 horses and men. The shot from either artillery 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 363 
 
 or infantry would consequently cause nearly double 
 the number of casualties in tlie larger body; their 
 dead, wounded, and disabled would be in the same 
 proportion. Besides, therefore, their very great prime 
 cost, what an enormous outlay of money would be 
 required to keep such cavalry horsed and efficient! 
 Again, what a large consumption of grain and forage 
 would these large horses require to keep them fit 
 for work during a campaign, and at a time when 
 both grain and forage are often very difficult to 
 procure ! It is a well-known fact that small blood- 
 horses require very little forage, and will work well 
 on a few pounds of grain daily, a quantity which 
 the larger horse would starve on. Any considerable 
 number of such costly cavalry could never be kept 
 up by any State during a lengthened war ; nor would 
 the advantages derived from their size and weight 
 compensate for the very great expense. 
 
 There is but little more to be said on the equip- 
 ment or arming of the cavalry soldier; but as I 
 advocate the light spear, as made in this country 
 with a bamboo shaft, it is as well to inform my 
 reader that the native horseman does not use it as 
 the English lancer does. He carries his spear point 
 to the front, in a line parallel to the body of his 
 horse; only when he is galloping to the front to 
 meet an enemy, or is in pursuit, or if he is about to 
 engage in single combat, or is skirmishing, he poises 
 the spear over the elbow of his right arm, the point 
 
364 WILD SPORTS OF INDIA. 
 
 being held low, within two or three feet of the 
 ground. The weapon is carried at right angles to 
 the horse, and across the man's body. The arm is 
 bent, the thumb and finger grasp tightly the butt of 
 the spear, within about two and a half feet of the 
 thick end, and the horse is manoeuvred so as to ap- 
 proach or retire from the foe, or circle round him. 
 When the rider turns his horse to the left, he does 
 not bring the point of the spear from right to left, 
 over the horse's head, but he raises his right and 
 spear hand higher than his own head ; and thus turn- 
 ing his horse, he brings the point of the spear at the 
 same moment over and behind the croup and tail, till 
 he has arrived at the spot where his foe is. He has 
 then a partial rest on the elbow of the bridle arm, 
 while the point of the spear is to the left. When the 
 spearsman retreats, the spear point is kept playing 
 immediately behind his horse. When the rider again 
 wishes to turn to the right on his enemy, the hand is 
 raised higher than his head, and the spear carried 
 clear round behind the horse, who at the same 
 time is turned on his haunches. This is called the 
 Mahratta spear exercise ; and they aver that young 
 horses broken in this way never shy away from the 
 bright blade, which would be the case if it was 
 brought suddenly in front of their eyes, and over 
 their heads, as in the European manner of using the 
 lance. 
 
 It is a beautiful exercise ; and to see the rapidity 
 
ON LIGHT IRREGULAR CAVALRY. 365 
 
 and precision with which the well-broken horses and 
 first-rate spearsmen will execute their manoeuvres, 
 wheeling round and round one another, would much 
 astonish those who are under the impression that a 
 spear is not a deadly weapon, or the spearsman a foe 
 to be dreaded. 
 
 In an attack in line, I should direct the spear to be 
 carried in the leather strap on the left arm. It would 
 serve to partly defend that side; and the sabre should 
 be used at the moment of collision. But immediately 
 afterwards, when single combat ensues and becomes 
 the order, or rather disorder, of the day, the spear 
 should be employed. At the first concussion, the 
 spear may be torn out of the hand of the holder, by 
 being buried in the body of his opponent, and there 
 may not be time to extricate it. A rear-rank swords- 
 man might then cut down the defenceless spearsman, 
 thus deprived of his spear, and not having had time 
 to draw his sword. 
 
 To the young sportsman, who I trust has obtained 
 some information from my book — to the old sports- 
 man, who has read it, probably with the intention of 
 comparing my system of hunting with his own — and 
 to all other readers, who have read it for amusement 
 — my fair ones particularly — I respectfully wish, one 
 and all, a good-night. 
 
 THE END. 
 
loxdon : 
 
 pbixted by smith, elder axd co., 
 
 little greex arbour court, old bailey, e.c. 
 
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